Founding

PAEZ emerged during the mid-2000s from the idea of transforming the traditional Argentine alpargata into a globally recognisable lifestyle product. The founders—Tomás Pando, Francisco Murray, and Francisco Piasentini—were young Argentine entrepreneurs who had previously worked for multinational companies. They identified an opportunity to take an essentially utilitarian Argentine shoe and place greater emphasis on design and branding. Contemporary Argentine reporting described the company’s early ambition as reinventing a traditional piece of rural footwear for a modern market.[1]

PAEZ officially began operations in Buenos Aires in 2007.[1] The basic proposition was to take a familiar Argentine shoe, improve its design and comfort, and turn it into an internationally marketable fashion product. This positioning helped distinguish PAEZ from conventional alpargata manufacturers.

Early growth

The company moved rapidly from the domestic market toward international distribution. In 2008, PAEZ established its own production facility in Buenos Aires Province, achieving an annual capacity of approximately 500,000 pairs. It also developed a network of entrepreneurial partners and international distributors.

By the late 2000s and early 2010s, PAEZ was exporting to markets in Europe, Africa, and elsewhere. By the middle of the following decade, reports indicated the brand was present in roughly 25 countries. Rather than presenting the alpargata solely as a traditional Argentine product, PAEZ marketed it as a casual, colourful, and globally wearable lifestyle shoe.

Understanding PAEZ requires understanding the alpargata. Traditional alpargatas are simple canvas footwear historically associated with workers and rural life in Argentina and other parts of the Spanish-speaking world. Their classic construction emphasises simplicity, lightness, and comfort.

PAEZ’s innovation lay not in inventing a new type of footwear but in repositioning an existing one. The company combined the traditional concept with contemporary colours and prints, fashion-oriented design, lightweight construction, casual styling, comfort-focused shapes, strong visual branding, international distribution, and lifestyle-oriented marketing. An Argentine industrial study characterised PAEZ’s approach as centred on simplicity, comfort, and innovation, noting that the company successfully transformed a traditional product into an internationally marketed design item. This effectively shifted the alpargata from a primarily functional shoe into a fashion and lifestyle item.

Although PAEZ originally built its identity around the espadrille, the brand has since broadened its portfolio. Current product categories include:

• Espadrilles
• Mary Janes
• Mocs
• Loafers
• Sandals
• Mules
• Clogs
• Slippers
• Sabrinas
• Tulipas
• Other seasonal footwear

The current collection is substantially broader than the company’s original alpargata-focused proposition. Contemporary positioning emphasises footwear suitable for various aspects of everyday life rather than being restricted to summer use. PAEZ describes its newer collections as designed for “real life” and different daily routines while retaining an emphasis on comfort and relaxed styling.[1]

PAEZ’s design philosophy can be described as casual, colourful, comfortable, and optimistic. The company’s official brand values identify four major principles:

1. Creativity – transforming simple and accessible products into distinctive experiences.
2. Responsibility – attempting to reduce the environmental and social impact of production.
3. Laid-back living – emphasising leisure, weekends, holidays, and relaxed moments.
4. Joy – promoting optimism and positive experiences.[1]

This philosophy remains closely connected to the brand’s original proposition. Historically, PAEZ has sought to make the alpargata feel less like a traditional or utilitarian shoe and more like an expression of personality and lifestyle.

Internationalisation became a defining characteristic of PAEZ. The company developed distribution relationships outside Argentina relatively early in its history. Industry documentation records PAEZ products being distributed through hundreds of stores and international partners, with later reporting identifying markets including Israel, South Korea, Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and South Africa. PAEZ’s current history states that the brand has reached over 50 countries.[1]

This global approach was significant because the brand did not compete merely as another traditional Argentine footwear manufacturer. Instead, it used Argentine cultural heritage as the starting point for a globally oriented lifestyle brand.

From Argentina to Portugal

A major development in PAEZ’s evolution has been its shift from Argentine origins toward a European base. The company is now based in Portugal, and its collections are designed in Lisbon.[1] This transition illustrates the evolution of PAEZ from an Argentine alpargata startup into an international footwear business. The brand’s current identity combines Argentine heritage, European design, and international lifestyle positioning.

PAEZ increasingly emphasises responsible production and materials. According to its responsibility statement, collections are designed in Lisbon before production takes place in Vietnam with manufacturing partners specialising in footwear production and responsible-material practices. Partners are selected partly based on certifications related to recycled materials.[1]

The brand promotes the use of recycled textiles and cruelty-free materials. Previous collection statements noted that recycled textiles certified under the Global Recycled Standard had been incorporated across the range. Sustainability and responsible production have become part of the brand’s broader positioning alongside design and comfort.

PAEZ occupies a space between fashion, casual, and lifestyle footwear. Rather than positioning itself as a high-fashion luxury label, the brand’s historical proposition has centred on attractive, comfortable, and relatively accessible footwear.

Historical sources and current corporate information support the picture of a brand that grew by turning a traditional Argentine footwear format into an internationally recognisable lifestyle product.[1]

PAEZ is notable as a branding case because its success was based on reinterpreting an existing cultural product rather than inventing a new one. The alpargata was already deeply associated with Argentina; PAEZ gave this familiar product a new visual language and presented it as suitable for international consumers. The company’s strategy can be understood as moving from a traditional product to contemporary design, then to lifestyle branding, and finally to internationalisation.

This approach differentiated PAEZ from generic footwear manufacturers. While the product remained relatively simple, value was added through branding, colours, designs, storytelling, and international distribution. Historical coverage noted that the founders deliberately attempted to transform what had previously been a commodity into a product associated with style and lifestyle.

As of 2026, PAEZ presents itself as an international casual-footwear brand rather than solely an espadrille company. Its website describes the brand as “Designed in Lisbon. Worn everywhere.” The Spring/Summer 2026 collection includes established styles and newer silhouettes, such as Fisher sandals and heeled mules, alongside reinterpretations of traditional espadrilles, Mary Janes, and Tulipas.[1]

The company continues to emphasise footwear for everyday life, relaxation, and positive experiences. Current brand language centres on creativity, responsibility, laid-back living, and joy.[1]

PAEZ’s primary contribution to footwear branding has been its role in modernising the perception of the Argentine alpargata. Rather than treating the shoe simply as traditional workwear, PAEZ demonstrated that an ordinary cultural product could be redesigned, branded, and exported as a contemporary fashion and lifestyle item.

Its story combines Argentine cultural heritage, entrepreneurship, product redesign, casual fashion, international branding, lifestyle marketing, global distribution, and an increasing emphasis on responsible production. From a small Argentine startup founded in 2007, PAEZ developed into an internationally oriented footwear brand and eventually established its creative base in Portugal.[1]

1. About Us – PAEZ