Twoobs – the Aussie-born shoe brand from sisters Jess and Stef Dadon – have found themselves on many a fashionable foot, from Rose Byrne to Flex Mami, and made waves all over the internet for their rainbow hues and soft soles.
To understand the story behind Twoobs, which launched in 2016, you have to look back to the early 2010s when Jess was 18 and Stef was in her early twenties. A fashion blogger came to talk at the fashion house they worked at and the talk inspired the sisters to launch their own blog which became a success and soon saw the pair score invites to fashion weeks, conferences and campaign shoots all over the world.
“That was what sort of started the idea for Twoobs,” Stef tells Broadsheet. “When we were travelling to fashion weeks, we were wearing these giant, uncomfortable platform shoes. We were getting so many blisters and we kind of had this ‘aha’ moment where we were like, ‘What if we created awesome footwear for women that [was] actually comfortable as well?’”
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SUBSCRIBE NOW“Those first shoes that we that we ended up coming out with were actually based on kids’ shoes,” Jess adds. “We always marvelled at how kids are able to look so fabulous but [are] never [expected] to compromise on their comfort.”
As well as being kid-running-round-all-day levels of comfortable, Twoobs are also vegan and sustainably made with sugarcane resin, recycled lycra and post-consumer polyester, natural rubber and organic cotton.
The brand’s first bricks-and-mortar store espouses those same sustainable values. The colourful Byron Bay store was designed by Luchi Alfonso and Jordi Sanchez at Avant Mater design studio. The sunshine yellow walls and benches were made by Sydney-based studio Defy Design using 100 per cent recycled plastic panels, which diverted 891 kilograms of plastic waste away from landfill. The curvy counter is made with a mix of post-consumer beverage bottles and papier-mâché, and the curtains are made from upcycled hotel towels sourced by local Byron brand Wost Manted.
The store also houses a drop-off point for Twoobs’ Takesies Backsies program, where you can recycle old Twoobs in exchange for a $10 voucher.
“Byron’s so perfect for the flagship store … obviously Byron is known as the environmental capital of Australia. There are so many brands and businesses [here] doing such awesome things with the sustainability and the planet in mind,” says Jess.
In terms of what’s coming next, Stef says they’re keen to expand their range past sandals and boots (the aptly named Bwoots) to something more trans-seasonal.
Twoobs
7/8 Fletcher Street, Byron Bay
Hours:
Daily 10am–6pm