Custom shoe brand uses artistic elements to highlight individuality

Latoya Shaw is creator of LØVCHLD, a custom designer shoe brand. Photo provided by Anderson Group Public Relations.
Latoya Shaw is creator of LØVCHLD, a custom designer shoe brand. Photo provided by Anderson Group Public Relations.

Custom shoe brand uses artistic elements to highlight individuality

By Tia Carol Jones

LaToya Shaw created LØVCHLD out of pain. She lost someone close to her in November 2019 and she needed to find a creative outlet. That outlet was to paint on shoes. She continued to paint on shoes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine.

“It’s been a ride. But, it’s just kind of digging through those dark moments and trying to find something that makes life feel worth living and brings out the light at the end of the day,” she said. Shaw feels like fashion is a creative outlet.  She started LØVCHLD as an artist brand, using shoes as an art canvas, which has transitioned into a fashion brand.

She recently premiered her film “Love Child,” in Los Angeles. The premise of the film is based on a poem Shaw wrote about growing up in a single parent household. It is a look at how Shaw felt different, and she grew to understand herself and her relationship to others based on how she grew up. Shaw was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, but her father is from Los Angeles. She has dual citizenship. She has been acting for the last 12 years.

Shaw advises others who are looking for a creative outlet to try anything and everything. From an early age, she started dancing and acting classes, which felt natural for her. Then, she experienced the tragedy of loss of someone very close to her.

“I felt like I wanted to start painting.  I journaled and it didn’t feel like what I was feeling was being translated through the words on the page. I also turned to photography,” she said, adding that a friend had a camera and suggested she start taking pictures. “I just feel like reaching for any kind of outlet of expression and then seeing what works for me.”

With LØVCHLD, Shaw wants to merge all of her creative outlets into one, in order to tell a story. She wants to create her shoes and put them into films she has written and created and tell stories, using that outlet. She also paints and customizes shoes for people, and takes portraits of them, and turns that into another piece of art.

The shoes Shaw creates have been described as ethereal with punk qualities, using bright colors and edgy tones. Each shoe is meant to highlight the individuality of the person who wears them. It also is a celebration of life and liberation. It is a dream come true for celebrities to wear the shoes Shaw creates. It is surprising to her because she didn’t start the brand for success, it was something she was doing to “collect” herself.

“To move out of quarantine and have people really respond to my work and want to wear it, having people with names wanting to wear it and having it in a movie, it’s just really been groundbreaking for me and I’ve been so honored and excited because it’s more than I have envisioned when I began all this.

So, it’s really cool and very exciting,” Shaw said, adding that she is ready to design and create her own shoe.

For more information about LØVCHLD, visit www.lovchld.com.

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