INDEPENDENT FOOTWEAR BRANDS THAT MADE IT BIG USING ITALIAN QUALITY

• Independent brands
• Indie
• Italian quality
• Golden Goose
• Common Project

Thanks to the web, independent brands have entered the fashion arena and conquered important market shares. There is a great hype around their image, but it needs to be backed up by high-quality and innovative product design. This is why Italian craftsmanship makes the difference in footwear.  

Thanks to the web, independent brands have been given the chance to enter the fashion arena and conquer important market shares. In fact, instantaneous, global communication and the low barriers make it simpler to start a brand and spread the news. Nonetheless, the market is now more crowded than ever. So, let’s understand how independent brands find success and how they maintain it.

Indie brands are making their way in fashion because they are more creative and not afraid to offer their customers something exciting and new. They are innovative, progressive or eco and they help push the whole fashion industry forward. Independent designers give choice to their customers, offering an alternative to mass trends and big brands, but they also give them the chance to express their personality, along with a sense of community and uniqueness.  

Independent brands are cool because they stand out amongst the noise with a strong, distinctive message, a unique point of view, that people are proud to share. To do so, they are great to create ‘vibes’ around their names: they are able to appeal to customers’ fantasies and emotions through a pleasing aesthetic and congruent content using social media.  

Nevertheless, success can’t just rely on this hype. Consumers want transparency from these brands. Indie brands that tell a significant story about their products and their manufacturing process are able to retain their customers and make them loyal. Moreover, as consumers feel empowered in their role of brand ambassadors and supporters, they are proud to share positive reviews and pass the word.  

To this purpose, it’s vital that customers perceive these brands as trust-worthy and worth spending their money on. In this light, when it comes to footwear, Italian heritage represents a significant resource to back up the brand image. Indeed, it’s much easier for an independent brands to stand out drawing upon the richness of the Italian craftsmanship excellence, refined design, and high-quality standards.  

Think about successful footwear brands such as Koio, Buscemi, Common Project, Golden Goose. They have their creations coming from Italian traditional labs and they are not afraid to experiment. Leveraging on the solid Italian tradition, these brands have self-promotion down to a fine-art, introducing their products to customers with a spicy, compelling image.