Footwear news and archive

Clarks unveils modernised store concept in return to Tottenham Court Road

Clarks has made its return to London’s Tottenham Court Road with a new store concept. Dubbed ‘Clarks Canvas’, the modernised retail setup intends to offer customers a contemporary environment complete with an updated logo and a fresh interior. The store itself, spanning two floors, houses dedicated shopping areas for women’s, men’s and kid’s, as...

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Business

Helen Kirkum to close studio at the end of 2025

British footwear and accessories designer Helen Kirkum, who became known for her pioneering approach to sustainable footwear by creating bespoke shoes from old trainers, has announced she is closing her studio at the end of the year. In a social media post, Kirkum said: “After eight years, Helen Kirkum Studio is coming to a close at the end of...

Fashion

StockX 2025 Trends: Asics remains market leader, football jerseys and coveted collabs dominate

The latest quarterly trend report by resale platform StockX has seen Asics retain the position of leading brand in the market. In ‘Big Facts: 2025 Trends’, which covers data over the quarter July 1 to September 30, as well as for the year to October, StockX said Asics’ growth continued, with quarterly sales for the footwear brand growing 45...

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Fashion|Interview

Community over commerce: Crepe City's creative director on the transformation of sneaker culture

Crepe City is taking place in Cologne for the first time this week. Following its German debut in Berlin, the British sneaker and streetwear event is now moving to the Rhine to bring the local scene back together. Connull Drummond, who has been involved with Crepe City since 2019 and has been its creative director for three years, reveals why...

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People

Malone Souliers names new chief executive officer

London-based luxury footwear label Malone Souliers has appointed former Manolo Blahnik executive Andrew Wright as its new chief executive officer. In a statement, Malone Souliers states that Wright was chosen for the role due to his extensive knowledge of the US market, as well as his “proven dedication to brand building, and strong commercial...

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Fashion|Interview

Footwear designer to watch: Annie Purdy

British footwear design is undergoing a revival, and it is being led by a new crop of designers looking to place innovation, craftsmanship and sustainability at the core of their designs. Leading the resurgence is recent London College of Fashion (LCF) and Royal College of Art graduate Annie Purdy, who was awarded the Sustainable Development...

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Business|Interview

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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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...

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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...

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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...