Rex Shoes: A Family Legacy Reimagined

For Nanette Adair, shoemaking was always more than a family tradition — it was a dream. She grew up darting through the Rex Shoes factory on Decatur Street in New Orleans, watching the hum of machines and the careful craft of artisans. She could see her future there, but fate had other plans. When her grandfather passed away young, the company — founded in 1863 by her ancestor Benjamin Rosenberg — closed its doors in 1985.

Adair, a fifth-generation descendant of Rosenberg, never let go of that vision. After a business degree from Babson College, marriage and a move to Atlanta, raising her children, and even overcoming a cancer diagnosis at 30, she decided it was time to revive the family legacy. In 2022, she officially brought Rex Shoes back to life, reimagining the brand for modern women.