When boot couture moguldom was still only a flash in her eye, a young but sentient Monique Capelta mused, “being fashionable is following the trend set by the crowd, but a fashion icon is one who attracts a crowd which inspires the trend.” Such logic is what sparked the framework for a line of boots, which has soared to the pinnacle of the fashion spectrum. The tale originated in Troy, North Carolina—a tiny town of two traffic lights where a young Capelta had a grand dream of becoming an actress. In 2002, she moved to Manhattan, putting into drive the pursuits she had since she was a child. It was then, while roaming the avenues of the nation’s fashion capital, that Capelta noticed her surroundings consisted of people wearing the same brands, same styles, and often times identical items—essentially creating a fashion monotony. Realizing her luxury boots were labeled as high-end, yet no different from those that paraded the Big City streets everyday, Capelta sought out a couple vintage coats and went to work with a pair of sheers and a glue gun. That evening, the first pair of boots by Capelta was born. During her time in New York she focused her energies on fitness modeling, and Capelta’s passion for acting was still unfulfilled. She landed a role in a feature film and moved to Los Angeles, along with her personal collection of boots, which had now reached the double digits. Immediately the convivial Capelta was approached by socialites about her boots on numerous occasions and eventually became convinced that her creative gift was something she needed to share with others. Capelta became inundated with varying offers from big-name designers and venture capitalists, and after months of contemplating, she realized that she would sale her boots only if she held complete autonomy over her line. Not only would she be the designer, but she became the principle model, and personally engineered her website, catalogs, and all other marketing materials. The only way Capelta was to be satisfied was for her to have complete oversight over all creative aspects of her company, which is as much a testament to her work ethic as it is to her passion for her line. Many of these acts went against the grain of what was typical for a designer of couture, but Capelta refused to abide by a set of norms she viewed as substandard at the expense of her creative drive—just as she did when she spawned the first set of Capelta boots years before.