Rebecca Minkoff Relaunches Shoes

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Rebecca Minkoff relaunches footwear, FitFlop refreshes its brand and Under Armour rethinks its logo strategy.

Here's what you need to know.

Exclusive: Rebecca Minkoff Relaunches Footwear Under New Owner, to Debut Fall 2024 Collection at Atlanta Shoe Market

Rebecca Minkoff is relaunching her footwear collection in a major way for fall 2024.

In an exclusive interview with FN, the New York-based fashion designer noted that after historically licensing out the footwear category to external partners, she has brought her namesake shoe collection in house for the first time.

The move was made possible with the help of Sunrise Brands, which acquired the company in 2022 in a sale reportedly valued between $13 million and $19 million. Sunrise Brands also owns Donald Pliner, Current/Elliott, Equipment, Joie and more.

The new fall 2024 collection features 30 styles across 75 SKUs and showcases standout constructions with Rebecca Minkoff’s downtown, rock inspired design elements seen throughout the line. So far, Minkoff has shown the collection to a few major department stores at her New York showroom but plans to make the official wholesale debut at Atlanta Shoe Market next week.

Throwback: Minkoff first launched footwear in 2010 via a license with Schwartz & Benjamin. The two companies worked together until Minkoff inked a new deal with the Camuto Group for her footwear category in 2017. The Camuto license remained until the sale of the company in 2022.

FitFlop Rolls Out Brand Refresh Amid Global Expansion Efforts

FitFlop is relaunching with a fresh brand identity.

The comfort flip-flop brand this week announced a new campaign for Spring 2024 that features a new look across its colors, silhouettes and brand logos. Dubbed “Smart Moves,” the new brand identity looks to win over younger consumers while simultaneously promoting the company’s footwear technology.

The refresh comes in the midst of FitFlop’s global expansion expansion efforts. The company, which secured a new?five-year $30 million revolving credit facility?from Aurelius Finance Company in April, opened its first U.S. store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood that same month. As of April, Fitflop had taken its wholesale count to over 5,700 doors across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. In the U.S, FitFlop has 171 wholesale accounts in 530 doors. Overall, the brand is currently sold in 73 countries and operates 145 concept stores across the globe.

Georgiades told FN in April that FitFlop would close its original White Plains office and open a showroom and office space in New York in June. The company also recently launched a kids’ collection as part of its?larger growth initiatives.

How Under Armour Is Rethinking Its Logo Placement on Some Lifestyle Shoes

Under Armour is toning down its logo placement on some key shoe silhouettes as it looks to get consumers interested in wearing its shoes outside of the gym.

In a call with analysts discussing the company’s third quarter results, chief executive officer Stephanie Linnartz explained how the Baltimore, Md.-based company’s shoe design teams have opted for more subtle placements of the company’s logo — two mirroring U shapes linked in the center and facing alternate directions. The fashion-conscious change comes as the historically performance-focused brand leans more heavily into lifestyle footwear designs.

For example, Under Armour’s Forge 96 lifestyle sneaker features a mesh and nubuck leather upper with a small, subtle UA logo on the heel tab. The brand’s UA Summit Trek shoes also feature a small, almost hard to find UA logo on the side of the shoe.

In a note to investors last week, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser called out the Forge 96 as an example of improved product from Under Armour, highlighting the shoe’s “subtle logo treatment.” During Under Armour’s Thursday call with analysts, Poser asked Linnartz about the company’s philosophy regarding logo use, especially on products like the Forge that he said “don’t scream with the big UA logo and seem to be doing generally better than most of the non-Curry product.”

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