Maud Frizon burst onto the scene in 1970, opening the first of two boutiques in Paris’ Latin Quarter named France Favor. She soon rebranded as Maud Frizon and, alongside her husband and business partner, Luigi de Marco, steered the brand to success for three decades. Frizon’s daring and unorthodox, blending bold color pairings and playful details, made waves in the shoe and accessories categories. Her most distinctive innovation was the “cone heel” — a design that was both stylish and surprisingly comfortable in the 1980s. The heel was an instant favorite, included in her pumps, sandals and boots worn by trendsetters and celebrities alike — Cher was noted in Footwear News scooping up dozens of pairs in a single shopping trip.

By 1977, Maud Frizon was lighting up Paris, New York, Rome and beyond, both in high-end stores like Donald Pliner in Beverly Hills and Bergdorf Goodman in New York. The brand celebrated on the runway through collaborations with Sonia Rykiel, Missoni, Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana and Azzedine Alaïa. Her influence is also seen in former freelancer, Christian Louboutin’s early creations.

Footwear News editors followed Frizon’s meteoric rise from the very beginning, chronicling her impact on the fashion world.

In 1982, FN interviewed Frizon in “Maud Frizon: An Unorthodox Approach” as she celebrated 10 years in the business and opened a stand-alone boutique off Madison Avenue at 40 East 57th Street.

Honoring her contributions to the footwear industry and Women’s History Month, below is an edited version of that interview taken from the pages of Footwear News.

“For my customer, shoes are the most important accessory in dressing,” Frizon said.

“She could be young or older and more sophisticated, but she is very fashion conscious.”

The Maud Frizon customer is not only fashion-conscious, but she is also fashion-confident, since the designer’s look is unique and somewhat avant-garde.

Frizon’s unorthodox approach to shoe design posed a problem when she started her business 10 years ago. She had no formal training in shoe design, which eventually turned out to be an asset. Her creativity was unencumbered by the more traditional school of thought in footwear design at that time.

She naturally met resistance from the factories she dealt with when she requested unusual colors, fabrics and heel shapes. “They told me, I couldn’t do it,” she reminisced. “They insisted it wouldn’t sell.”

Despite these initial words of discouragement, she persisted, and her first collection, which included canvas boots, was well received, especially by the fashion press. One successful collection followed another, and Frizon opened her own factory and expanded throughout Europe.

Maud Frizon shoes made their appearance in the U.S. eight years ago at stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus. Today, Frizon sells in 30 stores throughout the U.S., and plans to expand. “I will be spending a lot more time here.” She said emphatically.

Like most artists, Frizon said her inspiration comes from within herself. “I like fantasy,” she explained. The apparel industry also influences her designs. “I work closely with clothing designers and try to adapt my shoe designs to what is happening there.”

While Frizon has always broken with tradition in her footwear designs, she nevertheless follows “rules,” although they are her own. “I feel it is important to do a shoe without adhering to set rules — except that the shoe must be comfortable and well done. The shoe must have quality. I believe nice shoes and a belt worn with a simple dress look better than a nice dress worn with shoes that are not that nice. A woman looks more elegant with nice accessories…since the most important thing is the shoe.”

For Frizon, that philosophy was carried through her namesake for more than three decades. International growth and expansion led to restructuring and Frizon selling her namesake to French designer Stephane Kelian in 1992. It would change hands again in 1999, maintaining its French headquarters with a presence in Paris and Hong Kong. In 2017, Frizon’s “cone heel” made a runway return at Saint Laurent and Isabel Marant — the innovation that changed and secured the brand’s legacy.