THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
G FORCE | JULIE GILHART

Sporting new shoes

Barneys New York fashion director Julie Gilhart says over-the-knee boots are big for fall. Barneys New York fashion director Julie Gilhart says over-the-knee boots are big for fall. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
By CHRISTOPHER MUTHER
GLOBE STAFF / June 25, 2009
  • Email|
  • Print|
  • Reprints|
  • |
Text size – +

The third time is a charm with Julie Gilhart. After two unsuccessful attempts at interviews with the busy Barneys New York fashion director, we finally connected with an apologetic Gilhart last week to talk about her latest project - a collaboration with Barneys, Keds (owned locally by Stride Rite), and organically minded designers Loomstate. The new sneaker, which launched at Barneys last week, is an attempt to perk up the Keds brand, which many still envision as the ever-present companion to slouchy socks and leggings. We chatted with Gilhart about the new launch, along with other footwear that should be in your closet this summer.

CHRISTOPHER MUTHER

Q. What are you seeing as the “it’’ shoe this summer? Or is there an “it’’ shoe for summer 2009?

A. We’re selling different styles across the board. We’re selling a lot of shoe-boots, we’re selling a lot of color. We’re still selling a lot of gladiators, and the YSL cage shoe has been really good for us. We are still selling a few flats.

Q. If there was a particular shoe that women should be investing in now, what would it be?

A. Well, believe it or not, we saw a lot of over-the-knee boots for fall. From that point we saw a lot of boots from thigh-high down to shoe-boot. I would say any length boot is a very solid investment for fall.

Q. Are there any summer trends this year that have taken you by surprise?

A. Right now there’s nothing that has surprised me, but it was not an easy season. I’m proud of our customers. They are buying, but they’re buying less. I thought they weren’t even going to come into the store, and that’s what surprises me a bit. So I guess I’d have to say for me the most surprising trend is that people are still shopping.

Q. It seems logical that Barneys and Loomstate would partner. How did Keds get into the act?

A. Keds came to us and said, “We have this great brand, and we want to breathe some new life into it.’’ The cool thing about it is that it’s this company from 1916 - it has so much heritage to it. We looked back in the archive and we saw people like Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, and Paul Newman wore Keds.

Q. And do you think this shoe will do it?

A. These are made from organic canvas and they all have really great summer prints. They didn’t create new boxes, they used old Keds boxes, and we stamped them with the Loomstate logo. There’s also an address where you can send your Keds when you’re finished with them and we’ll recycle them. You get something that has heritage, you get something that has style, and you get something that has sustainability.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.