COMFORT AND STYLE haven't always gone hand in hand in the footwear industry, but thanks to the growing granny-chic fashion movement and a desire for authentic, handcrafted designs, classic comfort wear is having a moment.

Enter Rosa Mosa: The Austrian brand, which launched in the U.S. in Spring '11, combines traditional craftsmanship, old-fashioned silhouettes and unique materials for a subtly unorthodox aesthetic, fitting for both an Alpine village or an artsy Brooklyn enclave. With collections inspired by everything from Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to Transylvanian vampires, no season's styles ever look exactly alike, but the brand's basic DNA remains the same: all of the shoes are crafted by local Austrian artisans using recycled, eco-friendly materials, like Hungarian handwoven fabrics and vegetable-tanned leather. The spring collection, which retails for $300 to $700, has already been scooped up by eclectic women's chain Anthropologie as well as trendy boutiques in both New York and Los Angeles.

Rosa Mosa first began in 1999 when the brand's creative duo, Japanese designer Yuji Mizobuchi and Austrian designer Simone Springer, met at the Cordwainers College for Footwear at the London College for Fashion. Mizobuchi was a former Buddhist philosophy student with an interest in footwear, while shoemaking ran in Springer's blood. "I had a grandfather who was a shoemaker," she explains. "When he passed away and left his tools, I always wanted to know how to use them." For London Fashion Week in 2000, the pair created a collection of one-off wood-carved sandals that earned them the Currier Award for Excellence in Leather Crafts as well as an associate membership in the Guild of Master Craftsmen. In 2004, they moved their design studio to Vienna and named their new label Rosa Mosa.

The brand's Fall '11 collection exudes a darkly romantic, nomadic vibe with buckled boots made of textured leather and horsehair, as well as ballet flats and boots made out of shearling, Transylvanian carpet, wool and Austrian felt. Fittingly, the collection was inspired by the 1922 German expressionist horror film Nosferatu , Springer says. "We see ourselves as the main character, Mr. Harker, who keeps going east, driven by something sinister." -A.G.