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Markisha Marie Williams of East Tremont built her luxury shoe brand, M. Marie, from the ground up and has gained a massive following among celebs and fashion publications. <\/p>\n
Photo by Shane Miller @sirshanephoto<\/p>\n
As a child, East Tremont native Markisha Marie Williams<\/a> always loved playing dress-up, especially in high heels. Today, at age 34, she\u2019s living her childhood dream as creator of the shoe brand M. Marie, which has drawn attention from celebrities and fashion publications in NYC and beyond.<\/p>\n M. Marie designs have been featured in Essence, Refinery 29 and Cosmopolitan, and Who What Wear described<\/a> them as \u201cthe type of shoes you want to wear on vacation or for a girls\u2019 night out and believe everyone will ask where you got them.\u201d <\/p>\n The new collection, \u201cDiamonds are Forever\u201d will be released in early March.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI always knew that shoes is what I wanted to do,\u201d Williams told the Bronx Times, adding that growing up in the borough taught her the confidence to stick with it. <\/p>\n \u201cI come with so much spice, it\u2019s like, \u2018hey, I\u2019m here, you\u2019re gonna see me, and I\u2019m not going nowhere.\u2019\u201d Williams said her bold style has always been a big part of her identity and how others notice her. She described her look as classy, fun and glamorous, especially gravitating towards animal prints and mixed patterns, but said she loves \u201cugly stuff\u201d too. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not an aesthetic person. I wear whatever I want and just go.\u201d\n<\/p>\n In creating her shoe line \u2014 all with branded orange metallic insole \u2014 Williams always believed people would love her fun, party-ready designs. But launching the brand was a huge challenge at every step, from funding to manufacturing to sales to getting noticed in the competitive fashion market, where Black designers make up only about 5% of the industry, according to Essence<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the years it took to get M. Marie off the ground, Williams worked as a stylist, bank teller and sous chef and contacted manufacturers for nine years before finding one willing to produce her product.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finally, she began working with an Italian manufacturer in 2018, but getting her shoes noticed proved difficult as well.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t get one sale for like five months,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t discouraged. It just was what it was.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Little by little, M. Marie designs started catching on. Her shoe called \u201cFU Pay Me\u201d was one of the first to sell out, with Williams doing her own deliveries and taking payments via Zelle and Cash App. Then, she released a boot called \u201cReverse Cowgirl\u201d that sold out \u201cimmediately,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In advance of a July 2021 bodega-themed pop-up shop, \u201cA Girl from the Bronx,\u201d she previewed the \u201cTulum\u201d heel, with wraparound crystal-studded ankle straps and airy feathers over the toe. It suddenly became her most popular design, with blogs and fashion outlets taking notice. <\/p>\n \u201cI Googled myself, and that\u2019s how I found out I was in Cosmopolitan,\u201d Williams said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Her pop-up also proved incredibly successful, with some customers even flying from out of state to snag M. Marie shoes. \u201cI was sure of myself, but to see that support, it\u2019s a different level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m actually doing it\u2019<\/p>\n Oddly enough, one of Williams\u2019 big breakthroughs came after another shoe brand stole one of her designs.<\/p>\n The problem started on Instagram, where Williams said she sometimes drops sketches of upcoming designs.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s fun for people to see the process. Especially with me being a young Black woman, I want people to see the steps I take,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n However, Williams\u2019 show of creativity turned sour when a major brand, worn by celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez, viewed the sketch posted to her Instagram story and released a basically identical shoe not long after.\u00a0<\/p>\n Williams called out the brand on Instagram, and many rushed to her defense, including the popular fashion account, Diet Prada, which has well over three million followers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of celebrities and customers came to my page from that,\u201d Williams said. Within two weeks, she had to hire public relations staff to help her manage her brand\u2019s presence on social media and in the news. \u201cIt happened to be a gift and a curse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As a Black woman, Williams said she\u2019s accustomed to the challenges of \u201cnot being able to fit into what society wants me to fit into.\u201d Obtaining funding is hard when many may not believe in the success of her business, Williams said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But being a Bronx-based entrepreneur has enabled her to build a strong base of community support and repeat customers who love her glamorous creations and want to snap up every new release.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI got people who show up for me. I got people who fight for me,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI get to wake up and do what I love. I wanted to do this as a kid, and I\u2019m actually doing it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t
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A few of Markisha Marie Williams\u2019 shoe designs under her brand, M. Marie. Photo by Emily Swanson\n<\/p>\n