Stylists slip into new role
Cole Haan, the 90-year-old accessories brand known for classic design and a practical sensibility, is going Hollywood thanks to a new collaboration with three celebrity stylists known for their work with A-list clients and their own signature fashion points of view.
This month, the footwear brand, which is based in New York and Greenland, N.H., released a collection of limited-edition women’s shoes re-imagined by Erin Walsh (known for styling Sarah Jessica Parker and Lily Aldridge), Simone Harouche (Christina Aguilera and Miley Cyrus) and Karla Welch (Tracee Ellis Ross and Justin Bieber). The styles from the Cole Haan Stylist Collaboration collection include a slip-on with a mesh top and sneaker sole; an ankle bootie; sleek pump; and hefty hiking boot.
The footwear assortment, which has style names such as 3.Zerogrand (an oxford), Vesta (a pump) and GrandExplore All-Terrain (a hiker), is priced from $170 to $270 and available online at www.colehaan.com and at Cole Haan’s Westfield Century City store. Styles will roll out through October.
David Maddocks, chief marketing officer and general manager of business development at Cole Haan, said the shoe silhouettes in the collection were chosen to accommodate a variety of lifestyles — from work to weekend. “The goal was for these stylists to take these silhouettes and really make them their own — transcending the everyday [and] integrating both functionality and style,” he said.
The stylists’ interpretations took shape in footwear ranging from whimsical to edgy. Walsh festooned the top of the Vesta pump with a velvet and bejeweled bow, while Welch refashioned the blockheeled Blair boot in a beautiful oxblood-colored leather.
Walsh, a former fashion editor known for a playful and polished aesthetic, said, “Throughout the process, I continuously asked questions like, ‘Is there consistency in color? Is there an interesting texture play? What’s the juxtaposition here?’ And most importantly, ‘Is it surprising?’ Do you think when you look at it, ‘Gosh, I really need that?’
“I wanted to design shoes that played within the masculine and feminine, whimsical and refined, and I think we were able to do that.”
For Harouche, it was the opportunity to add a modern edge to a rugged boot such as the GrandExplore All-Terrain. “I love the idea of a true fashion spin on a rugged boot,” she said. “The boot itself is the most amazing forest green color, and the cuffs are speckled in this incredible wool, which makes them so comfortable.”
Considering fashion’s current fascination with stylish, almost futuristic-looking sneakers and work boots, the hiker and 3.Zerogrand oxford are right in step with fall 2018 shoe trends. “It’s about making the elevated seem attainable,” Walsh said, “and giving the customer new ways to dream and new ways to think about how they [can] wear classic ideas.”