After years of refining its footwear category, Anne Klein is making its first significant push into sneakers.

As it embarks on the move, the company is getting inspiration from the late designer’s famous quote: “Clothes won’t change the world, the women who wear them will.” A more footwear-specific version of the mantra will serve as a branding element for the new collection: “Shoes won’t change the world, the women who wear them will.”

Launching for spring 2024 at a time when the category has never been more competitive, the label debuts its lifestyle sneaker collection with three initial styles: the Runner, the Confident and the RiseUp. The new Runner sneaker comes in four colorways and features stretch laces for a slip-on function as well as a wedge height construction that lifts the wearer’s foot for both support and height.

The Confident sneaker is available in three colorways and characterized by a distinctive scalloped outsole design. The style also features the same stretch laces and hidden wedge insole for lift as the Runner. As for the RiseUp, the style is a true slip on silhouette that features an elevated outsole design and whip stitching detail. The RiseUp is available in three colorways. Retail prices are all under $100.

“We wanted to be really thoughtful and intentional on how we approach our customers,” Anne Klein Shoes creative director Paula Koumoundouros told FN during an exclusive walkthrough of the new sneaker collection last week. “So, we did a lot of research, technical design aesthetic, in all ways, shapes, forms and proportion. We paid very close attention to proportion, and making sure we’re really giving her something special that stands out from the crowd.”

As for where the sneaker category fits into the rest of Anne Klein’s shoe business, Michael Fishbein, president Anne Klein Shoes, sees the extension as a completion of building the brand’s full lifestyle shoe category. “Sneakers could be 20 percent of our total, Fishbein noted. “And I think that’s a conservative number if you look at other wholesale companies and what they do in the category.”

This expansion is part of a transformation led by Koumoundouros, who joined the Steve Madden licensed Anne Klein Shoes three years ago.

“We’ve made it our goal to expand the customer base,” Koumoundouros told FN during an exclusive walkthrough of the new sneaker collection. “Just three years ago, the demographic of the customer was pretty isolated. It was an older customer and comfort driven, but a very healthy business nonetheless, So we really saw so much potential in the footwear assortment, to widen the audience to have multiple age ranges, and to have something for everyone.”

Koumoundouros and her team worked to make subtle fashion and comfort updates to Anne Klein’s core dress shoe business to deliver what this new multi-generational target audience seeks in the marketplace. Trend right styles like kitten heels, metallic finishes and embellished evening styles were added to the brand’s core mix that longtime Anne Klein customers return to season after season.

“We’ve evolved the brand so much that this launch was the natural next step of evolution,” Koumoundouros said. “We introduced a larger range of aesthetics with so many more fashion elements and so many new categories, that we didn’t have before, that sneakers were the logical next move.”

And to launch the new sneaker line, Anne Klein has tapped model Kate Upton for the debut campaign shot by Anthony Mandler in Miami.

The spring 2024 sneaker collection will be available at AnneKlein.com and in-store at Macy’s and online at Macys.com, to name a few.

Anne Klein, which was acquired by brand management firm WHP Global when it bought its former parent company Nine West Development LLC in July 2019, has produced its footwear through a license with Steve Madden since Jan. 2018. According to its most recent 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Steve Madden said it extended its licensing agreement with the Anne Klein brand in 2022 to run through Dec. 31, 2026.

On Wednesday, Steve Madden Ltd. reported revenues in the fourth quarter of $519.7 million, up 10.4 percent compared to the same quarter in 2022. For the full year of 2023, revenues were down 6.6 percent to $2 billion, better than Steve Madden’s expected 7 percent decline.