E.S. Originals President Mari Chamberlin on Her New Role With the Company: Women Who Rock
Jennie Bell
Deputy Managing Editor
In January, longtime footwear exec Mari Chamberlin was promoted to president of E.S. Originals, the New York-based footwear licensing firm whose portfolio includes popular brands including Nautica, Sugar, Juicy Couture, London Fog, Jones New York and more.
Chamberlin has been with E.S. Originals for 27 years, most recently serving as president of the women’s division. Prior to joining the company, she was with Nine West.
Abie Safdye, vice president of sales at E.S. Originals and one of its third-generation leaders, described Chamberlin as an “instrumental member” of the team, noting that she “played a pivotal role in driving growth, innovation and excellence” in the women’s category.
He told FN that the company is positioning itself for growth, with its eye on adding new brand partners, especially in the casual athletics business. “We’re a robust company,” Safdye said. “We have a portfolio of brands that we keep growing. We’re very innovative, we’re very aggressive and we’re taking the company to new heights. That’s what we see coming in the near future.”
Watch on FN
Here, Chamberlin shares more insights into her new role at the company and how E.S. Originals stays on top of the every-changing fashion marketplace.
Since being promoted to president last month, what are your top focuses?
Mari Chamberlin: “I’ve been over women’s for many years, and then over the last two years, they expanded my responsibility to be over kids, and now I’ll be overseeing men’s, too. I’ll be bringing that whole fashion trend approach to all genders, by watching what’s going on in the marketplace and also seeing what’s going on in Europe. I’ll also be making the company more vertical, with sharing more information, keeping the teams closely connected. Everything was very segmented before, and now we’re going to one company, where I’ll be reporting in to the owner’s sons — Abie, CEO Joey Safdye and Jacob Shalom — and we’re going to work together on the innovation going on in the marketplace and how we stay on top of everything.”
Which styles are the hottest right now?
MC: “I would say more of the athletics in Nautica, and with Juicy Couture, the seasonal product, the cozy and casuals. And then for Sugar, it’s a lot of the dress products. Within our brands, we hit everything — it’s kind of a one-stop shop where if you’re looking for boots or dress, we have it in Sugar. If you’re looking for casuals and athletics, we have it in Nautica. If you’re looking for fun, seasonal product, we have it in Juicy Couture. And then we do have moderate product in Jones New York and London Fog.”
With all the contraction and consolidation among major U.S. retailers, how do you continue to foster those partnerships?
MC: “You have to be very creative in how you work with them. And stay up on what the trends are and what they’re exactly looking for. We have great partnerships where they rely on us for that. And then constant communication [is also important] because things are changing every day. A big-box retailer might want one thing one day, and then the next day want something else. COVID really changed our company by the fact of we were able to communicate all the time versus waiting for samples. And we work closely with [retailers] to share what’s new.”
What’s new for the coming seasons?
MC: “We just started dabbling in leathers because some of the [retail] customers want to elevate their product, but our leathers are $49, so we’re still staying in that open price point where we find that the consumer is shopping right now.”
Which trends are standing out for fall 2025?
MC: “I would still say that cozy is on fire and footbeds, too — I’m not seeing that change. Novelty sneakers are definitely coming back, and we’re seeing a lot of different materials on those. You’re seeing a lot of Mary Janes with athletic bottoms, which is new and fresh. I still am hearing a lot about boat shoes, but I feel like that’s very territorial, like maybe it’s still more of a Southern thing.”
A version of this article appeared in FN’s special “Women Who Rock” issue, released Feb. 3. On Feb. 4, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation will honor these women at the annual live event in New York City.
