Shane & Shawn

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Twin brothers and shoe designers Shane and Shawn Ward call their target demographic “boardroom rock stars.” At their flagship Nolita boutique, the results look like a cross between John Fleuvog and Giuseppe Zanotti. After a career creating shoes for Adidas, Reebok, Puma, and Converse, Shane applied the comfort principles of athletic footwear to the pair’s Detny line of heels and flats for women and dress shoes and boots for men. Quilted insoles of foam and pig leather form to the foot, rubber pods fixed to the shoe soles provide shock-absorption, and foam cushions at the ball and the heel ease damage to the arches. The shop’s glam décor of black-velvet furniture, a gurgling central fountain, and an ornate gold chandelier overhead offsets the selection of lipstick-red platforms and distressed white-leather ankle boots. Most women’s heels top three inches and showcase snakeskin and metallic details, while men’s loafers are accented by crisscrossing straps, decorative buckles, and studs. — Lauren Murrow