Ropa Mupambwa, inspirational and trailblazing Zimbabwean born female Footwear and Handbag Designer and founder of Celyn Roze, a footwear and fashion brand based in Calgary, Canada and sold globally.

Mupambwa moved from Zimbabwe to Canada when she was 12 years old.

Upon arriving in Canada, her first job was at the mall, because she was drawn to fashion, styling, and working with different fabrics.

She noted how women go through stages in life, from having children to growing older, and through these times, they need their heel height to change.

Women have always wanted the luxury of wearing any shoe they want in any heel size they prefer but most of the time, the heel sizes are restrictive.

Ropa Mupambwa aims to produce fashion staples such as her one shoe, five different heels under her fashion brand Celyn Roze to fill the gap.

In 2019, this led her to launch Celyn Roze with the vision of designing shoes in five different heel heights: flats, 3.5 cm, 6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm.

All Celyn Roze shoes have a signature orange sole and a cushioned insert so that wearers can benefit from the comfort of extra padding (something all women have been waiting for).

“I noticed that people would end up wearing the wrong heel height, or they just ended up not buying shoes because they don’t have the right heel height,” she said. I wanted to fill in the gap in this challenging day.” she said.

Mupambwa credits her mom, whose name is Celyn Roze, as a massive inspiration for her journey in the fashion industry.

“When I started designing and selling shoes, I wanted my brand to be different. I wanted something unique and to solve a problem as well,” she said.

Ropa credits her mother, who used to sew ready-to-wear outfits, and grandmother’s crocheting skills for her fashion sense.

“My mom has a sleek fashion background, and she did a little bit of tailoring back home,” she said. “She used to do ready-to-wear outfits and wedding dresses. She even made her own wedding dress.”

Ropa believes women should be free and confident to embrace whatever heel height they want according to the various life cycles they go through as well. Women should be allowed to feel beautiful in any heel height they wear.