Mind Uncharted Explore. Discover. Learn.
Gender-neutral footwear takes center stage in fashion
As the conversation grows around inclusivity in fashion, more footwear brands are rolling out genderless or gender-neutral shoe collections. Traditionally, footwear has been labeled as men’s or women’s, but more brands are creating shoes they say appeal to all people.
Gender-neutral footwear is starting to gain traction in mainstream and high-end fashion. In the same vein as gender-neutral apparel, gender-neutral footwear is starting to gain traction in mainstream and high-end fashion. The younger consumer today doesn’t view gender in the same way as previous generations, leading to a larger focus on the terms “genderless” or “gender-neutral” shoes.
Many footwear brands are embracing gender-neutral footwear. Early this month, Adidas and Stella McCartney worked together to launch a gender-neutral athletic shoe in black and orange, while Nike teamed up with WNBA towards Sabrina Ionescu to develop a gender-neutral sneaker, Sabrina 1, out later this summer. Wolf & Shepherd debuted its first genderless collection, Cruise, at the beginning of March.
Gender-neutral footwear has been around for years
According to Beth Goldstein, footwear industry analyst at Circana, what has been called “unisex footwear” has been around for many years. Crocs, Converse, Birkinstock and many other brands have made the same shoes in the same colors for their customers. However, those shoes are often categorized as men’s or women’s, which still feeds into the gender binary.
The once-overlooked market for gender-neutral footwear
In 2013, NiK Kacy started their eponymous shoe company, which they define as gender-equal and gender-free. As a trans and gender non-binary person, Kacy struggled to find shoes that fit their feet and gender expression. Kacy used their savings to develop their own shoe and began to concentrate on building their own brand when people started asking where they could get a pair.
Kacy faced difficulties in finding a manufacturer who shared their vision, meeting a lot of resistance because, as Kacy said, “The industry itself is very archaic, cis, male, hetero, white.” However, Kacy found a manufacturer who, though doubtful about the shoes, agreed to make them. According to Kacy, “I think he grew and he learned… that actually, his perspective had to change… because in the end, I ended up proving him wrong.”
Despite challenges, demand for NiK Kacy’s gender-free footwear is growing, and Kacy aims where to raise enough capital to meet it.
Gender-neutral footwear expands to luxury brands
Wolf & Shepherd was initially founded as a men’s footwear brand in 2015. However, as more women started wearing the brand, Wolf & Shepherd’s co-founders, Justin and Hope Schneider, set out to build a genderless shoe. The result, Cruise, came out in early March in three different styles. Three models currently retail for $189 to $229, depending on color.
With Cruise, Wolf & Shepherd wanted to put something on the market that was well-designed, high-quality and stood out in the genderless footwear space. Wolf & Shepherd has more products, including dressier styles, in the pipeline. In our mind, at this point, really, anything can be genderless,” said Hope Schneider, “It was a really fun exploration, and we think kind of more futuristic, to design products for all people. And so that’s kind of the mandate for any product that we’re briefing going forward.”
Rethinking how gender-neutral footwear is merchandised
Circana’s Goldstein expects to see more gender-neutral footwear on the market to serve demand, and retailers have an opportunity to rethink how they classify their products. Most retailers still divide up stores into a men’s section and a women’s section, but it could be interesting for retailers to think about “how they might merchandise this in a more compelling way,” Goldstein pointed out. For instance, “instead of separating the two spaces, bringing together one sort of big presentation and then letting the consumer decide,” she said.
