Picture this: you have a presentation for class in 20 minutes, but you only just woke up. After rushing around to get ready, you throw your books in your backpack and run out the door. The second your foot hits the pavement, your heel snaps. There is no time to turn back around and change your shoes; you can’t be late for this presentation.
So many young professionals attending college have experienced some form of this scenario, and when it happens, all your attention goes to your outfit and not to the presentation you worked so hard on. Luckily, thanks to a handful of bright fashion innovators, that problem is solved.
Pashion is a company that has brought the first fully convertible shoe to the market. It has a detachable heel that easily comes off or is attached. This way, you don’t have to worry about your heel breaking, you can simply take the other one off and have a fully functional pair of flats.
The founder of Pashion, Haley Pavone, was out dancing with some friends when she decided she could not keep up in her platform heels. It wasn’t until a few songs later that she was “impaled through the foot” by another lady’s stiletto. Pavone has since said it was that very “lightbulb moment” when she got the idea for Pashion.
She wasn’t just inspired by the pain her own feet were feeling, but by the pain other people’s feet were inflicting on others. Pavone realized that heels were just a pair of flats with a heel glued onto them. From there, Pavine went to meetings anywhere she could to learn about launching, pitching and managing a business. Soon after, she created her dream team.
Tyler Unbehand, Pavone’s current business executive, barely knew anything about the business when she first joined the Pashion team. The only thing Unbehand knew was that she loved innovation. Together, they crafted their first product model that they soon pitched at conferences and competitions. The third and final member of their original team was Seiji Van Bronkhorst, a mechanical engineer who just so happened to love making shoes.
Three months later, Pashion had a patent, a wearable product and was formally incorporated. The company went to Portland, Ore. and began working with some of the most influential shoemakers in the U.S. They helped to make Pashion’s first-ever shoe look aesthetically pleasing while also being fully functional. Once Pashion was able to raise over one million dollars and sell their first few pairs of shoes, the rest was history.
I love Pashion for all the amazing things they stand for. Their passion for innovation inspires me to create whatever I set my mind to. Kayla started her million-dollar business after one night out and is now known as one of the smartest and most innovative young adults in the fashion industry. This could be any one of us attending Sacred Heart University. From adjustable jean accessories to fully recyclable and environmentally friendly clothes, to the detachable heels that will surely be a staple in all of our closets for years to come, fashion innovators are the young Thomas Edison’s of our time. We have the power to create inventions that will change the world, one heel click at a time.
