Traditional Venetian gondolier shoes make their way to the fashion capital.

The first time I stepped foot into Pair Vibes, in March 2016, I was at the Palazzo Papadopoli in Venice – the ancestral home of Viola and Vera Arrivabene, founders of the brand – enjoying an aperitivo. Twenty-something sisters carrying a basket full of lopes furlane, traditional rubber-soled gondolier slippers – usually in velvet – from the 18th century, and the mother of Arrivabenes, Bianca di Savoia Aosta, was buying years on the Rialto bridge. “Our friends were always asking us where they could get it,” Viola said.

And so the e-commerce business began. Bedazzled navy, kelly green bordered with emerald, chambray with fuchsia detailing, cheeky camouflage canvas… ViBis has decidedly elevated it. Gondolier Style game. All hand-stitched, perfect with cropped jeans or a full-length evening dress, they’re comfortable and – a joy – for getting in and out of, whether hopping Gozo or negotiating security at Heathrow.

Six years, several collections – most recently, a collaboration with Emilia Wickstead – and an explosive social media phenomenon, the sisters opened their first brick and mortar location in the heart of Milan’s Brera district. Following their predilection for color, the space on the park floor has ice blue walls in cadmium red detailing. Candy-trimmed cottons abound for sofas and soft chairs like the Mistress. “It’s like our living room,” says Vera, who lives in Milan and is often in the courtyard. We want our customers to feel part of our story when they visit. Not such a stretch: some of the furniture was ordered from the sisters’ first Milan flat, while the saffron yellow curtains were pinched from their parents’ house on the Grand Canal.

Furlane For men, women and tots, with wedges (Espadrille-like sneakers), sturdy gym shoes and sweet Mary Janes are all waiting to be in artfully lit floor-to-ceiling alcoves, as well as on wine racks and coffee tables – and yes, in raffia baskets. He fell.