Stéphane Kélian

French brand of shoes, bags and accessories, famous for its elaborate and prized interlaced workmanship. Today it is one of the most famous and important brands of shoe in the world, selling 250,000 pairs of shoes a year to 27 countries. The name of its founder and creative spirit is Stéphane Kéloglanian (1942), an Armenian immigrant. In the 1970s, at the height of the crisis in the shoe industry, he decided to bet his money on creativity and fashion, transforming the little artisan factory producing men’s shoes, founded in Romains by his brothers Georges (1929) and Gérard (1932). In 1977, he presented a collection of women’s shoes and the following year opened his first shop in Paris on the Rue des Saint-Pères. He has bought the Mosquitos and Miss Maud brands and the line of women’s shoes signed by Kenzo.
&Quad;2001, December. Kemos, a French finance company bought the business through Alain Duménil. Kemos already held the majority share of France Luxury Group, who own the Jean-Louis Scherrer and Francesco Smalto brands.
&Quad;2003. Alain Tondowski became the new art director.