7 months ago
25
On the heels of quiet luxury, prep is having a moment. As part of that, the boat shoe, pioneered by Sperry in 1935 with its iconic Top-Sider style, is making a comeback. In January, the heritage brand was purchased from Wolverine by the Aldo Group for $70 million. To discuss the revival, we spoke to Aldo Group president Jonathan Frankel. He shared how the brand is fueling its resurgence with a series of on-trend campaigns and cool collabs with Todd Snyder and Chris Echevarria — and what he thought about Miu Miu’s take on the boat shoe.
When did you first realize the brand was about to have a major moment in the spotlight?
“In the fall of 2023, it became clear that the quiet luxury trend mixing with a modern, younger, more inclusive preppy look was taking shape. There’s no better footwear paired with this look than the Sperry boat shoe and a couple of other styles we have, as well, which have always been iconic styles within that look. It’s a trend that then was very quickly adopted by brands — Miu Miu walked it down its [spring 2024] runway with a style that fused a loafer with a boat shoe. But is purest form is Sperry’s AO, or Authentic Original, which is the original boat shoe, [designed in] the 1930s. That hasn’t changed at all. We have the originator status, in terms of that trend.”
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English (US) ·