Walter Steiger is not a new label on the shoe scene, but after years of a diminished presence in the U.S. market, Barneys New York has relaunched the collection for fall.
Steiger, the second-generation Parisian shoe designer known for his distinctive curved heels, opened his first store in Paris in 1974 and quickly began working with high-profile designers such as Claude Montana and Karl Lagerfeld, the latter during his days at Chloé, for which Steiger created his signature heel. In addition to opening several flagships, including one on Park Avenue in New York, Steiger’s business expanded overseas. Seven years ago, Steiger decided to close his wholesale accounts and sell only out of his own stores. “At that moment I was a little tired,” said Steiger. “I had my shops. I’m not really a businessman. I like to make my items and I thought, ‘Why should I bother to sell?’”
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Things changed two years ago when Steiger’s two sons Paul and Giulio joined the company. “With my sons now, together, we’re starting a new adventure,” said Steiger, 69. “We decided to come back to America. We’re coming back very aggressive in fashion.” The father-son trio has been working on reinvigorating the label.
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New details for fall include a focus on the curved “Steiger heel” as well as gold leather linings, a detail that was pulled from the archives, circa 1974. Barneys took note. “We realized there was a tremendous amount of Steiger’s influence on fall runways,” said Daniella Vitale, chief merchant and executive vice president at Barneys New York. “His design, his heel, is very architectural. Mark Lee looked at the Walter Steiger shop in Milan and said, ‘This looks so right. It completely fits in with the season.’ So we went to the showroom and Mr. Steiger was there and Paul and Gulio, and we just had this fantastic meeting.” The fall collection just hit shelves, yet Vitale reports that the curved heel pumps and booties already have a 25 percent sell-through.
So far, Barneys has a one-season exclusive, but as Vitale said, “We do hope that it will continue because, like I said, it’s already started to perform and I do believe this has tremendous longevity if we position it properly.”