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Many of footwear’s biggest names came out on Monday to celebrate FN’s 80th anniversary at an event that highlighted the publication’s mission to deliver the news and bring a diverse industry together.
“[This anniversary] reinforces the power of authority, the power of news and the power of content. If you go through our history, you can see that we were always there through those huge, transitory moments in our industry,” said Michael Atmore, editorial director of FN and chief brand officer of Fairchild Media Group, during his opening remarks.
The event — an interactive cocktail followed by a video retrospective and toasts — featured industry luminaries, on film, and in person. They opened up about key themes that have defined the shoe business and FN’s history, from retail revolution to technology and innovation to the sneaker boom to footwear’s deep relationship with pop culture. The greats who have shaped the industry were also highlighted, from the power founders to the family dynasties to the design stars. And footwear’s iconic brands also got their moment in the spotlight as speakers talked about FN has chronicled shoe history.
“There’s only one real publication that speaks to footwear so truly, so honestly and authentically, that I can go back to and look at and learn from,” said Ronnie Fieg, the founder, chief executive officer and creative director at Kith, during his toast. FN, he said, has been a core part of his life and career since he started out working in the stockroom at David Z (his uncle’s store). Now as Fieg marks his own incredible milestone — 15 years of Kith, an industry powerhouse — the founder relishes the chance to dig into FN’s archives and reflect on his journey in the business.
Kenneth Cole, founder, chairman and chief creative officer of his eponymous company, also grew up with FN after he decided to abandon plans to go to law school and instead work with his father, Charlie Cole, at his factory in Williamsburg, at the time a “tough” part of New York.
“[My father] said, ‘Go create some product you can sell.’ So I created some product. And then he said, ‘Bring it to Vivian Infantino.’ She was the [fashion director] of Footwear News. So I did, and Vivian embraced the product and put it on the cover. She referred to me as a new up-and-coming designer — a term I had never really processed or defined. But I have kind of owned it and embraced it ever since.”
Giuseppe Zanotti recalled landing at JFK Airport for the first time in 1986 as a young footwear designer looking to make his mark. He turned to FN for guidance as he established himself in the luxury shoe market. “FN, for me, was like a compass. I was young, lost and unwise. Now I’m a little less young, but perhaps still a bit unwise,” Zanotti quipped.
Nicky Hilton Rothschild talked about the power of footwear and how FN has played a big role in telling the story. “If you grew up in the Hilton family, you knew early on shoes could change the energy of a room. They weren’t just accessories, they were statements,” she said. “And over the years, no one has captured that intersection of style and stardom better than FN. It has chronicled the way shoes became pop culture and how families like ours found identity, confidence, and sometimes even controversy, in what we wore on our feet.”
FN’s influence and ability to bring the industry together was also recognized by Marc Fisher, founder and chief executive officer of Marc Fisher Footwear and Susan Itzkowitz, president of the company. “Just to be sitting here amongst the greats…who else besides Footwear News could pull a crowd like this together,” he said.
“I really feel that for a big industry, we’re much more of a community [compared with] other industries our size, and this is because of FN more than any other organization,” added Larry Schwartz, founder and chief executive officer of Aetrex.
Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, talked about his own company’s storied history. At almost 150 years old, Caleres and its iconic brands, which include Naturalizer, Allen Edmonds and Sam Edelman, among others, have been a constant in FN’s coverage through the years. “What makes a brand iconic isn’t just longevity — its relevance, reinvention and voice,” Schmidt told the crowd.
Dan Haroldsen, head of marketing at Amazon, reflected on the retail revolution that has unfolded during FN’s history, from the catalog era to the storefront to the website. “Footwear News has been telling the stories that help all of us be successful in our space,” he said.
Leading up to each toast, unique videos also featured leading voices who expanded on the themes, including Christian Louboutin; Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer at Nordstrom; Michael Greenberg, Skechers president; Bjørn Gulden, CEO at Adidas; D’Wayne Edwards, president of Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design; stylist and creative director June Ambrose; Hilton, and Fieg.
Greenberg, who just helped engineer the biggest shoe buyout in industry when 3G Capital revealed its deal with Skechers last month, recalled the early days of the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company more than the three decades. “All I think about is Advil and Tylenol, and the headaches,” he joked.
Nordstrom also recalled his earliest days in the business, when he and his brothers, Blake and Erik, decided to follow in their father’s footsteps. “I remember when I was starting this business relatively young, my dad [Bruce Nordstrom] always read Footwear News and talked about it,” he said.
When Bjørn Gulden, a former soccer player, made the leap into the business, the sneaker business — which of course now dominates — was still in its infancy. “When we started, there was nothing. We were entrepreneurs because there was no recipe,” he said. Gulden believes leaders have the responsibility to keep the momentum going. “Our job is to bring back this DNA and show why Adidas and other sneaker brands are so important culturally.”
Adidas is just one of the famous brands that has gotten considerable ink in FN, and Ambrose talked about why footwear brands have become so powerful culturally. “Shoes are the foundation to the look, the sole of every step you take, every move you make,” she said.
Speaking of icons, Louboutin talked about what keeps him inspired, more than three decades after he debuted his famed red soles.
“What carries my career is enthusiasm. As long as I have this appetite for people, conversation, artists, music — as long as I have this still burning as an incense — things remain very exciting for me. That’s what I’m trying to describe in my work.”
He continued, “Let’s face it, it’s one of the worst periods ever, a terrible moment. But I’m still proud to stand for what I was born for: To put a smile on people’s faces.”
Everyone was smiling on Monday night.
