This Designer Does Shoes Differently
Here, the Montreal-based Maguire founder shares her surprising daily routine, little luxuries and long-term vision.
Myriam Belzile-Maguire is not your typical CEO—and she knows it. “I’m really not a morning person,” she laughs when we connect at a palatable 10 a.m. “Usually, my morning routine is just my cat biting me and screaming for 30 minutes until I wake up.”
Hers is a far cry from the archetypal rise-and-grind regimen—you know, the one that involves a rigorous workout, cold shower and intention-setting meditation before 8 a.m. But that’s exactly what makes her fashion brand, beloved Canadian shoe label Maguire Shoes, so special. She has the crisp vision of an entrepreneur without the high-pressure intensity. She doesn’t drink coffee, has a hard time adhering to trends and, despite helming a footwear brand with on-the-pulse designs, admittedly lives in one pair of sneakers. But if you shop at Maguire Shoes, that effortless-meets-eclectic balance comes as no surprise.
The Montreal-based label was founded in 2017 by Myriam and her sister Romy, who wanted to offer luxury footwear at a fair price. These days, their assortment of square-toe ballerina flats, hardware-heavy biker boots and sleek suede sneakers has a cult following in Canada and beyond. (They’ve since opened a shop in Toronto and a boutique in Brooklyn.)
Coffee aversion aside, Belzile-Maguire has all the ingredients of a self-made success story: grit, discernment and, crucially, good taste. She caught the fashion bug in university, when she was studying abroad in Milan. There, the Francophone learned English and Italian while developing her eye for design. Now, she lives in Montreal, travelling to Europe twice yearly to visit manufacturers. (Everything is designed in Canada and made in Portugal, Spain and Italy.) Her favourite part of the job? “The reaction when people see the shoes for the first time.” Sure, she’s building something of a sustainable footwear empire. But true to her delightfully chill nature, she’s pretty level-headed about the whole thing. “We’re not saving the world with shoes,” she says. “But we can create a spark of happiness.”
Below, Myriam Belzile-Maguire shares more about the small stuff that brings her joy—from Montreal soft-serve to buzzy beauty treatments.
How she starts her morning
I’m far from the CEO that wakes up at 5 a.m. I prepare everything at night so I can sleep as much as possible. Still, my cat won’t let me sleep in, so she wakes me up at about eight. I often prepare gluten-free muffins ahead of time. I’ll grab one of those, and then get to the store by nine. The Maguire office is behind the store, and I live like 10 minutes away. I usually eat breakfast during my meetings so I don’t lose any sleep.
How she describes her personal style
At Maguire, we have four different personas for our customers. I identify with one called “eclectic play.” It pulls influence from Europe, specifically Portugal, and the idea is: What she wears is who she is that day. My style is kind of minimalist, but with bold patterns and colours. It’s similar to what Maguire offers.
I don’t actually have a lot of shoes. Before I owned this business, I used to have way more. But when you design shoes, you don’t feel the need to own them as much as you might if you saw a style in the store for the first time. I have a warehouse full of shoes. Because I can have all of them, I’m more cautious about which ones I choose. I select new shoes when I have an event to attend, but other than that, I wear the same pair of sneakers almost every day, the Simone.
What she’s excited about
The return of polka dots! They went away for a couple of years but I’ve always worn them. In 2012, a friend of mine held an intervention. He was like, “You need to stop wearing polka dots.” But now they’re back, so I’m allowed to wear them again.
How she makes a tough career decision
I always think of the future first. Once you have a clear vision of where you want to be, it’s easier to make tough career decisions. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices so you’re able to be where you want to be in, say, five years. For example, right now, I make a lot less than when I was working for a big corporation. Working for myself, I’m taking a salary cut because I want to keep growing. I’m making this tough decision now so I can fulfill my long-term goal of creating interesting jobs in Canada. We want to keep offering the best product and the best quality at a fair price. We’ve expanded to the U.S. and I have plans to expand in Europe, and it’s all to keep creative jobs in Canada.
The last book that inspired her
I don’t often sit down to read because I am always on the move. But I do listen to audiobooks and podcasts. I recently purchased the memoir “Wildflower” by Aurora James, who is a fellow Canadian designer. I’m interested in hearing other designers’ journeys.
The best advice she’s received
I recently met with one of my mentors, Sophie Boulanger, who founded the glasses company BonLook. During that meeting, she said, “When you pay peanuts, you gets monkeys.” I found this expression really funny, and it stuck with me. When you want quality work and you want to grow your business, you need to invest in people.
How she decides which products to launch
The team on the floor in our stores has a big say in what we launch. Because they’re with the customers, they often have insight into what products we’re missing and what people are asking for.
Another part of the decision comes from visiting our factories—one in Portugal, two in Italy, three in Spain. We work with the same manufacturers that work with big European brands. (Even though those brands sell for twice our price.) So we often see what all the luxury brands are doing six months to a year in advance. That gives us a good feel of what’s on the market and allows us to do something unique.
Her go-to spots in Montreal
Montreal has a big Vietnamese community, and we have some of the best pho. I go to Pho Tay Ho at least once a week. In the summer, I love to go to Kem Coba. It’s an ice cream place that does a mix of Vietnamese and French cuisine. They have soft serve ice with fresh fruit—our team is there all the time, it’s like a two-minute walk from our store. It’s amazing.
The buzzy beauty treatment she’s really into
Last year, I tried these lasers called BBL [Broadband Light], and they really worked for me. It’s good for people with fair skin, people who are sensitive to sun or get rosacea. It removes redness and sun spots and leaves your skin with this natural glow. It’s just really expensive—I can only afford it once a year.
What she splurges on
Travel is the biggest thing. I love going back to Italy. I lived there for two years—I love the food, I speak the language, I like the schedule there. They start work around 10 a.m. and finish around 8 p.m., which is fine by me.
WHAT SHE IS CURRENTLY COVETING
This article contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Natalie Michie is the style editor at FASHION Magazine. With a pop culture obsession, she is passionate about exploring the relationship between fashion, internet trends and social issues. She has written for Elle Canada, CBC, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and over-analyzing movies on TikTok.
FASHION FWD:
THE STYLISH LIFE, STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX
Sign up and never miss fashion and beauty news, product drops and trends. Plus, the occasional promotional message from our partners.