Elegant, comfortable and fun, new Melbourne shoe brand Cherrichella is firmly at home in Australia.
The brand was founded by Ross Phelan, who is also the creative director and designer. Ross has had a long and substantial career in the footwear industry, working for some of Australia’s top brands like The Iconic and Munro Footwear Group.
“The brand launched in 2020 during the pandemic,” explains Ross. “After more than 15 years in the footwear industry with dreams of always starting my own label, I would say I was forced into it when I found myself without a job for the first time in my career.
“There were no other excuses to hide from, I simply took the leap of faith and started to create Cherrichella.”
From the beginning of the brand Ross planned to “turn the model of non-leather footwear on its head – to create a limited edition collection with new styles dropping monthly”.
“In footwear, most non-leather brands are about the cheapest product and large volume of orders to achieve that price. From my experience this leads to over supply of product and constant discounting.
“I like the idea of buying something scarce, unique and knowing that my customers won’t see our footwear everywhere. Our footwear is sold only online via our own site cherrichella.com.au and some partnering marketplace sites such as The Iconic, Surfstitch and Esther,” explains Ross.
The Cherrichella style is constantly evolving to fit both trends and customers’ feedback as the brand expands. But you can always be sure of one thing; lots of lovely colours.
“Our aesthetic is really changing every season as we expand the width of the collection. Ultimately I want the collection to be easily worn and for us never to be afraid to experiment with colours,” explains Ross.
“Being able to produce limited size runs in bright colours and sometimes in small runs such as 36 pairs, means that our customer is receiving something special. Our heel heights are medium in height and the brand started with a real casual feel to it, but I am excited to see what spin we can put on dress options when customers can really start to wear that product in the near future.”
Being a relatively young brand, Ross is continuing to work on improving Cherrichella, particularly in the area of sustainability.
“Sustainability is something that we are educating ourselves on. We still have a long way to go,” says Ross.
“In preparation for our launch, we focused on packaging. Being an online brand, our shoes are shipped out in compostable mailer satchels. Our shoebox is made from recycled cardboard and we have put a lot of thought into the overall presentation of the brand because at the end of the day, if our customers keep our shoebox and reuse it, then that is the best form of sustainability.
“It was also important to me that we gave back with every sale and I wanted us to contribute to our local community so we partnered with i=Change which allows our customers at the end of the purchase cycle to choose between 3 giving projects where Cherrichella gives $1 from every sale,” Ross says.
Cherrichella supports Restore Sight – supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation; Secure the Great Barrier Reef’s future – supporting Greening Australia; and Replant Our Natural Habitat – supporting Greening Australia, via the i=Change project.
When it comes to customer support, Ross says the brand is focused on ensuring that you always get a good fit.
“We offer free shipping and returns within Australia because we understand the customers are taking a chance on us, being a new brand in the market. While it’s an expense to the business, we want to take away any barriers for customers to give our brand a go,” says Ross.
“Shoes can be tricky with sizing as there is no international standard for sizing and each shoe shape can fit differently so it’s important to us that customers have the confidence to try our brand especially for the first time.
“Each customer receives a handwritten note with their order and we love to receive feedback. All feedback helps us grow and become better.”
Website: www.cherrichella.com.au | Instagram: @cherrichella
We are proud to announce that Cherrichella is the shoe sponsor for our Summer Daze Runway Event! Tickets are now available, go to www.trybooking.com/BVUMF
Discover more interesting independent Australian fashion brands in Our Fashion Stories section.
