Footwear news and archive

Shoe circularity gets trial run: Footwear Collective pilots circular systems amid EPR push

While fashion’s recycling systems are steadily advancing, footwear remains one of the industry’s toughest circularity challenges. It is this challenge, however, that The Footwear Collective is looking to tackle head-on through a series of shoe-dedicated programmes that intend to address the lack of infrastructure readily available to this...

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Business

Coats Group completes acquisition of OrthoLite, restructures divisions

Coats Group has announced the completion of its acquisition of footwear materials provider OrthoLite. The UK-based company said the takeover reflected a major milestone in its long-term growth plans, strengthening its existing footwear division through the expansion. With the acquisition, which was valued at 770 million dollars and included...

Retail

Alohas opens its first UK store in London

Madrid – Alohas, the Spanish on-demand fashion and footwear brand, is continuing to expand its global retail network with the opening of its first brick and mortar store in the UK. The brand has entered the country with the inauguration of its first store in London. Located at 45 Beak Street in the heart of London's SoHo district, the store is...

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Fashion

LA shoemaker holds Hollywood's past in a dying art

In a cobbler's workshop in Los Angeles, the footprints of Hollywood history are stacked floor to ceiling, watched over by a man who says his profession is dying. Yellowing boxes hold the lasts -- foot-shaped molds -- used to create footwear for everyone who was anyone in America's entertainment capital for more than half a century. Elizabeth...

People

Oofos: Lou Panaccione and Angel Martinez to lead as co-CEOs

Global footwear brand Oofos has announced a new co-CEO leadership structure, appointing co-founder Lou Panaccione and industry veteran Angel Martinez to the joint roles to enhance the brand's continued growth and evolution from its pioneering position in the recovery footwear category. As co-CEOs, Martinez will oversee brand, product creation,...

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Business

Quince scores partial win against Deckers in Ugg dispute

A federal judge has granted luxury label Quince a partial victory in its ongoing legal battle with Deckers Outdoor Corporation, the parent company of Ugg boots. The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that two of Deckers’ claimed Ugg trade dresses, the Classic Ultra Mini and the Tasman, are generic and therefore not...

Featured

Fashion |Interview

Wilson Smith & Tate Kuerbis, and the rise of sneakers as cultural currency

Close your eyes and try to picture this scene. It’s 1986, at Nike head office in Washington County, Oregon and architect Wilson Smith III, who has been working with Nike as a showroom, store and corporate office designer has just been asked if he can come to the back room for a talk. “I went in expecting the worst,” he recalls to FashionUnited...

People

Toms welcomes Jessica Alsing as CEO

Footwear brand Toms, known for its social impact, has appointed footwear industry veteran Jessica Alsing as its new chief executive officer. Alsing, who has been consulting with the company in recent months, brings deep expertise in footwear, digital marketing, and global brand building, along with a shared belief in Toms’ mission to use...

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People

Hoff hires David Tourniaire-Beauciel to lead design and drive international growth

Madrid – A new chapter has begun for Hoff, as the firm, led and co-founded by Fran Marchena, announced the appointment of David Tourniaire-Beauciel as its new design director. The renowned French designer is a key figure in the evolution of footwear lines for revolutionary labels, most notably Balenciaga, where he served as a close collaborator...

Retail

Mallorcan footwear brand Carmina expands internationally with new European and Asian stores

Mallorcan footwear brand Carmina Shoemaker, founded in 1866, continues its international expansion with the opening of three new boutiques in Luxembourg, London and Tokyo during the final quarter of 2025. The first opening will take place on September 30 in Luxembourg, on the central Avenue Porte-Neuve. Two weeks later, on October 15, the...

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Business

Dr. Martens expands into the UAE and Latin America

British footwear brand Dr. Martens is expanding its global presence with a new distribution partnership with Beside Group, marking its entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market for the first time. Additionally, the brand has secured a deal to further its expansion into Latin America through a partnership with Crosby. In a statement, Dr....

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Business

Genesco forms a global retail group to reach more customers

Genesco, the footwear company with more than 1,250 retail stores in North America, the UK and the Republic of Ireland, alongside a portfolio of owned and licensed lifestyle brands, has formed a global retail group uniting its Journeys, Schuh and Little Burgundy brands. The new venture will be called Journeys Global Retail Group and will be led...