The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022 - Issue 31

Cristina Lloyd celebrates with Chelsea Paris founder Theresa Ebagua on her SS22 collection embracing cornrow lines, Deco geometry and woven Raffia. Chelsea Paris biteshoes B efore Theresa Ebagua established her shoe brand Chelsea Paris in 2012, taken from the names of her two daughters, she earned an undergraduate de- gree in Computer Science and an MBA in IT Infrastructure, which she called “my ‘parents’ degrees.” She had always been captivated by the textiles and silhouettes of shoes, but her African parents were focused on her education and didn’t believe making shoes was a career. After her mother passed, Theresa had an ‘aha’ moment. She was on a flight back to Los Angeles after attending her mother’s funeral in London. Whilst reading an article on footwear designers, she realised, “This is what I should be doing.” So she travelled to Italy and studied at Arsutoria School in Milan, followed by a one-year apprenticeship at family owned factories. She learned about product develop- ment, pattern-making, how to make shoe lasts, dye leathers and other components that go into creating shoes. Today, Chelsea Paris embodies diverse creativity, global perspective and timeless luxury, which seamlessly fuses Af- rican-inspired designs with European craftsmanship. Her shoes have been spotted on celebrities such as Beyoncé, Selena Gomez and Kendall Jenner, have appeared in Fash- ion Week presentations and are found on the shelves of re- nowned retailers like Nordstrom and previously at Barneys, New York before it closed in 2020. Cornrow & Geome Images courtesy of We Are PR