It started with one pair

Johanna grew up in 1980s Paris, surrounded by women of strong character. With her grandmother, a seamstress, she began early on to imagine the clothes she wanted to wear — and discovered something that never left her: the way a cut, a material or a single detail can change a silhouette.

As a teenager she spent hours in the vintage shops of Paris, looking as closely at how clothes were made as at the clothes themselves: a button, a seam, a shoulder, a proportion. Pieces from other eras, worn before her, and able to feel obvious again once taken out of their context.

That way of looking has guided everything since.

After training at the Institut Français de la Mode, Johanna worked with houses and designers of very different worlds — among them Phoebe Philo, Sonia Rykiel and Elie Saab. She sharpened her eye there, and above all a conviction: a strong piece should never take the place of the woman wearing it. It should reveal something that was already there.

Shoes have always held a particular place in Johanna’s wardrobe. And among them, the Western boot.

A boot she grew up with. An instantly recognizable silhouette rooted in Western culture, carrying images of open spaces, music, cinema and independence.

Yet Johanna could never find exactly the one she wanted to wear.

She loved its character, but not its excesses. Her intention was to preserve the codes that make a Western boot immediately recognizable, the high shaft, the lines of the foot, the embroidery, its unmistakable presence, while bringing them into a more contemporary feminine wardrobe.

The silhouette became more refined. The toe became rounder. The heel was lowered. The arch was reworked. The shaft found a new proportion. Embroidery moved beyond the realm of Western costume to become an integral part of the design.

Suede also played a role in this transformation: its matte texture softens the presence of the boot, brings depth to color and gives a different expression to this silhouette rooted in Western heritage.

The idea was not to separate the Western boot from its history, but to preserve what makes it essential while giving it a more precise, feminine and natural expression for today.

And above all, comfort became inseparable from the silhouette.

From this search came Midnight.

The first Shiloh, and the starting point of a vocabulary the Maison continues to explore today: a recognizable high Western boot, defined by embroidery, crafted in leather or suede, and conceived as a permanent piece rather than a seasonal trend.

In 2019, Midnight gave rise to Shiloh Heritage. Not to a succession of collections meant to disappear a few months later, but to a house built on one conviction: some shapes deserve to be deepened rather than replaced.

Midnight became the starting point of a vocabulary. Another height. A new embroidery. A different leather. A suede. Fringes. Studs. Unexpected colours. The silhouette stays recognisable; its expression changes.

That is how we think about collections: not as a constant search for newness, but as continuous work around pieces we want to keep.

Over time, Shiloh could have become many things. We chose to stay close to what made us begin. The western boot. Because there is still a great deal to explore in a single shape, once you agree to give it time.

A few millimetres changed. An embroidery rethought. A new proportion found. A colour that completely transforms a pair known for years.

Our models are not made to belong to a season. They enter the collection when they feel right, and stay as long as they go on being so.

A house born of a pair Johanna wanted to wear. And still looking, since, for how far that pair can take us.