For a decade, Le Monde Béryl has been quietly reshaping what luxury footwear can look like, one Venetian slipper at a time. Now the London-based, Italian-made label has crossed the Atlantic, opening its first permanent flagship on Madison Avenue at 23 East 67th Street, a short walk from Central Park, the Frick and Sotheby's headquarters.
Founded in 2016 by Lily Atherton Hanbury and Katya Shyfrin on a London park bench, the brand launched with a single velvet Venetian slipper, a flat that originated in nineteenth-century northeast Italy and later became the footwear of choice among gondoliers. Ten years on, the collection has expanded to encompass minimalist Mary Janes, low-heeled riding boots, shearling-lined après-ski slippers and croc-embossed leather pumps, all crafted in Italy and worn by a devoted global following.
A Collector's Home, Not a Store
The founders wanted their first physical home to feel less like a shop and more like a private collection. They enlisted London-based art advisor Silka Rittson-Thomas and design firm Tutto Bene to translate the brand's world into a space that feels dreamlike and intimate, somewhere between a gallery and a dressing room.
Rittson-Thomas introduced theatricality into the long, deep 67th Street space. The mood draws from an eclectic set of references: Pina Bausch's dance studio, The Hunger starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, and Club Silencio from David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. The idea of obscuring and revealing became the design's guiding thread, with moments of concealment built into the architecture itself.
Mirrors, Murano and Mohair
Visitors descend concrete stairs into the boutique, where a dark chocolate-coloured carpet guides them along an L-shaped floor plan. Wood cabinetry lines the main corridor, showcasing Le Monde Béryl's latest creations, from snake-effect pumps to supple leather ballet flats. The cabinet doors can open or close, allowing for peekaboo moments and shifting spatial configurations.
A blush-coloured curtain and matching roller shades add to the sense of theatrical reveal. Mirrored surfaces trace the lower level of the cabinets, showing shoppers their feet as they float through the showroom. At certain angles, what emerges most clearly is the reflection of your shoes while the rest of you almost disappears, a detail the designers describe as intimate rather than display.
Italian Heritage on the Upper East Side
Objects from Rittson-Thomas's personal collection anchor the space further: metal-frame chairs by Mats Theselius, Murano sconces and an antique repoussé mirror that nods to the brand's original Italian inspiration. The founders plan to rotate vitrines with works of art and other curatorial moments, keeping the space evolving rather than fixed.
The Madison Avenue location itself was a deliberate choice. The proximity to Central Park, the Frick and Sotheby's spoke to the founders' interests and the cultural references behind the brand. It is an address that signals permanence and intent, a signal that Le Monde Béryl has arrived in New York to stay.
For Atherton Hanbury and Shyfrin, the move is a natural extension of what the brand has always done. Shoes are about tactility and a physical reaction, Shyfrin explains. The second you put them on, you have a response. The new flagship aims to recreate that feeling at the level of an entire room. As Atherton Hanbury puts it simply: it feels like a space, not a store.
Le Monde Béryl is located at 23 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10065.