AMRIA is the Amor way

By Hagar Sides

The combination of the snakeskin with the transparent mesh fabric and the shoe’s elegant shape left me wanting to check out what else the designer had to offer. Wandering through her site, I found a colored crocodile-like leather boot, and my heart skipped a beat. When I met Galit, the designer, and founder of AMRIA Shoes, it was clear to me where her style came from.

I got my love for shoes from my mother.

When I was little, she had a pair of brick-colored boots and I was magnetized to them. I hoped the day would come when I could strut in them myself. She would always choose her shoes carefully and pass on the obsession to me. I remember her taking me “especially” to Mykolinski’s shoes on Dizengoff (who were among the top shoe manufacturers in Israel) to choose boots. The boots lasted for many years and were relevant for several years until it was no longer possible to walk with them.

“There is a shoe sale on in Jaffa, do you want to come with me?” my mom suggested.

“Yes, I will come with you, who’s having a sale?” I inquired.

“Israeli designers,” she replied

Long before there was Instagram, she knew where to go looking for shoes, knew the artisans and designers, and knew how to tell me about every one of them. Eventually, the shoe sale became “Shufoni” – a very popular shoe fair that took place twice a year, winter and summer. Young and older women would frequently attend it, but over time, as it became more popular, my mother and I rarely went.

The Johnny Boots

The shoe market in Israel is a market that is, unfortunately, disappearing. The cost of production in Israel is very high, and the remaining manufacturers are few. Whenever I find out about an Israeli shoe brand, I immediately check it out and if I like something I buy something.

I got to know the AMRIA shoe brand thanks to AYEN’s first photo campaign. When I saw the model wearing a pair of snake skinned pumps combined with amazing pants, I felt that magnetized feeling again, and that was my first encounter with AMRIA shoes.

She greets me at a store in Jaffa’s flea market with a white tank top, jumper pants, and AMRIA shoes.

“I was a lawyer. Fashion, shoes, and I did not live in the same world. Yes, I would buy clothes and shoes, mostly abroad, but the Israeli fashion world was completely strange to me, and if you had told me a few years ago that I would be designing shoes, I would not have believed it.” Galit tells me at the beginning of our meeting.

Galit holds two degrees in law from the University of Haifa and was a doctoral student and a teaching assistant; she practiced law for many years.

A few years ago, she started working for a few hours in a fashion boutique in her residence area, slowly becoming the boutique’s owner while traveling abroad to bring over samples and build collections.

Her story with shoes happened by chance. During a shoe factory meeting on behalf of the boutique where she worked, she noticed that she enjoyed talking and asking about shoes. “As a lawyer, who spends long hours in court and the office, I need to be presentable; I always wanted to have a pair of shoes that were both stylish and comfortable, and it was tough to find something like that in general and in Israel in particular.”

I very much connected to what she said. As a diplomat and someone who has been to many conferences and events throughout my career, finding cool shoes that are both classics, suitable for a dress or suit and comfort was impossible. I would carry with me in my suitcase several pairs of shoes to match the clothes I had brought for myself during the conference.

After she decided to design several show samples, Amria was born; She traveled to Italy to collect raw materials and look for factories that make proper defrosting. After they were ready, Her friend helped her sell them at a shoe fair. She sold all the shoes out.

Galit loves every shoe she creates and has a story for each design, how it was born, and how it got on the shelf.

Galit loves shoes.

Visit AMRIA designer page