Behind iconic design – The Regina Boot – Fairfax & Favor

Fairfax & Favor is now a must-see and must-wear brand on the equestrian, country (and increasingly city!) circuit, but it all started with one boot – the Regina to be precise. Here I have a chat with the company’s founders, Marcus and Felix, about how they created this iconic piece, when they realised that they’d hit on something pretty special, why tassels and more…

Fairfax & Favor started life as a country brand creating gunslips – how did you transition from this to the Regina and what design features make the Regina unique and different to what was available in the boot market when you launched?

Spanish boots have been around for decades. What we did was strip it down and make it the fitted boot it is today, with the added detail of interchangeable tassels.

Why tassels? As the first brand to embrace interchangeable tassels, you created a trend that other companies are starting to emulate, but what made you take matching tassels and decide to do something different?

We sold our men’s shoes, the Bedingfelds, with different coloured tassels and thought it would be a great if you could change them, it’s too fiddly on a shoe (for now) but it was perfect on a boot.

When did you start to believe that this boot was putting you firmly on the map? Was it the amount of sales, the kind of people wearing them, a comment someone made?

We believe the Regina is the perfect boot in town and country. It’s stylish and always gets attention, we are very lucky that our customers love them so much that they promote the boot for us.

Is the Regina we see today the same as the first model that you sold or has it evolved over time? 

The Regina has evolved to feature stretch at the back panel, padded insoles and new rubber grip.

Why did you call it the Regina? 

Regina is queen in Latin and we thought it was fitting for a regal boot

What elements of the Regina carry forward onto your other pieces? Things like the craftsmanship, design detail…

For all our products, we pride ourselves on the quality, time and craftsmanship that goes into any Fairfax & Favor product.

The Regina might be Fairfax & Favor’s flagship and first boot but it’s now been joined by the Explorer and new Amira for ladies, and these add to the collection of shoes, ankle boots, accessories and bags for ladies, and loafers and accessories for men. See the full range on their website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.