“Built for the foot that walks, not for the foot that pivots.” That’s how Viviana Laguzzi remembers the tango shoes of her performing years.
A life on stage
According to Madreselva’s About page, Laguzzi trained as a classical dancer at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires before tango became, in the brand’s words, her “declared passion”. For more than 18 years she toured with her partner Juan Corvalán as the solo duet of the Tango Pasión company and of Maestro Mariano Mores’s company, dancing at venues including the Acropolis in Athens, the Kremlin and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Mimí Pinzón: from stage wardrobe to boutique
Colleagues kept asking who made her dresses. She told Marie Claire Argentina that, influenced by her grandmother and her own demands, she designed every garment she wore. When she wanted to spend more time in Argentina, she began thinking about creating the country’s first tango boutique (Marie Claire, in Spanish).
Mimí Pinzón was founded in 2000. Mimí Pinzón’s About page says the brand is worn by dancers in over 40 countries and quotes her design philosophy: “Sensuality is essential, but I prefer the seduction that hints, suggests and invites.” In Perfil she described her signature as shine, embroidery, stones and a combination of textures, all handmade (Perfil feature on tango entrepreneurs, 2024).
“Sensuality is essential, but I prefer the seduction that hints, suggests and invites.”
Viviana Laguzzi, quoted on Mimí Pinzón’s About page
Madreselva: the shoe that didn’t exist
The shoes came from the same frustration. “The demands of my dance (the fast turns, the shifts of weight, the relevés) asked for a shoe that simply didn’t exist,” she writes on Madreselva‘s site. She had them made by a trusted craftsman, lighter, more flexible and more stable, and “more fashion, more luxury”. “That is how, without a business plan, the very first Madreselva last was born.”
Both brands are named after famous tangos. (A small curiosity: the year Madreselva joined the house varies between sources, with 2005, 2006 and 2015 all appearing in different interviews and pages.) Today Madreselva describes itself as the official sponsor of the Buenos Aires Tango Festival and World Championship since its inception, and its shoes are handmade in Argentine leather at its “Palacio de los Lirios” atelier.
Practical lessons from a stage dancer
Madreselva’s own buying guide reflects that experience: suede soles for controlled pivots, reinforced heels aligned with your body weight, a snug fit with no heel slip, and 7.5 cm as the classic social heel. Read our posts on choosing your tango heel height and how tango shoes should fit.
Why it matters
Stories like this are a reminder that tango fashion is made by dancers, for dancers. That’s the same spirit behind Dimitris Bronowski’s books and courses. If you love the people behind tango, his book The Legends of Argentine Tango tells 131 stories of the musicians, singers and dancers who made tango history.
More founders: the Comme il Faut story, the Madame Pivot story and the dancers who built tango’s favourite brands. The full buying guide is in our complete guide to tango shoes and clothes for women.
Find a store: see our guides to tango shoe stores in Buenos Aires, tango stores by country & city.
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