At the end of the day, the key to a major fashion label’s success is thriving shoe and bag lines. (Hi, Alexander Wang.) People are much more willing to drop serious money on things they can theoretically wear multiple times a week than, say, a shirt they wear a few times per year. Proenza Schouler, which has recently undergone rapid expansion with the help of new investor Andrew Rosen, has already tapped the “It” bag market with the popular PS1; now they’re beefing up their footwear. WWD reports that the brand has signed a licensing deal with Iris SpA, the same company behind the shoes at Marc Jacobs, Chloè, Michael Kors, Jil Sander, and Nina Ricci.
Proenza Schouler has made shoes since 2008 with Vicini SpA, but this new agreement signals an ambitious focus on shoes starting as soon as this month, when they show their pre-fall collection. Just picture these ring-studded, mirrored sandals … only many, many more of them.
