NEW YORK — Marc Fisher Footwear is adding another big name to its stable.
The company has inked a deal with designer Isaac Mizrahi and his company’s new owner, Xcel Brands, for a footwear line under the Isaac Mizrahi New York label.
The deal was the fruit of a longtime friendship between Marc Fisher and Xcel CEO Robert D’Loren. It marks the latest venture for Fisher Footwear, which inked the Tommy Hilfiger shoe license earlier this year.
Mizrahi previously had footwear licenses with The Fashion House Inc., Pancaldi and the GFW Group to manufacture lines for Isaac Isaac Mizrahi, Isaac Mizrahi, and Isaac Mizrahi for Target.
Calling Mizrahi a great American designer, Susan Itzkowitz, president of Marc Fisher Footwear, said: “He always has a great, irreverent sense of humor [and makes] timeless classics that are very modern. We are doing some interesting strategic things with the shoes, like adding great new comfort features to them, to set the line apart from the rest of our portfolio.”
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The line targets women aged 32 to 60, according to D’Loren.
Mizrahi explained: “The driving aesthetic is a youthful elegance. I think shoes are getting more beautiful, as opposed to stylized and I have always stood for beautiful shoes. We’re working on distilling our classic vision for shoes into a modern collection for a new marketplace.”
The line will debut in February at FFANY. Price points will be mostly kept just under $100, said Itzkowitz, except for styles like boots and booties.
“This is going to be a new space for Isaac because the distribution we’re targeting is better retailers. Isaac’s brand is [about] his truly timeless cosmopolitan style, with the differentiator being color,” said D’Loren.
Itzkowitz agreed: “All this fabulous color-blocking we’re seeing [makes me] think of Isaac. There’s a real resurgence of feminine footwear, including jeweled sandals, which fits right in with [his design aesthetic].”
D’Loren said he’s looking forward to seeing a range of flats, heels and boots, adding that he is on the lookout to sign licensees for handbags and accessories collections for the brand.
