How This Company Wants to Be the Warby Parker of ShoesM.Gemi brings affordable Italian luxury directly to the shoe-obsessed.

Many—if not most—women have a weakness for fancy footwear. M.Gemi, a direct-to-consumer luxury Italian shoe label, was created for them. The brand, which launched in March with a website and mobile app, is named after one of its founding members, the Sicilian-born chief merchant Maria Gangemi, and is backed by $14 million in seed and Series A funding.

"The beauty of shoes is the client," says founder Ben Fischman, who previously introduced flash-fashion-sale site Rue La La. "She is obsessed with them. She's got an insatiable appetite for shoes. We think obsession and insatiable appetite create great business dynamics."