The seven designers have different creative styles and stem from different parts of the world but are connected by the shared vision of being fashion-forward, inclusive and customer-centric. Each brand has created shoe designs in their own unique, individual style. The collection will be available in all 25 European markets where Zalando operates.

The idea for the collection came from a conversation with the Helsinki Pride community, of which Zalando has been a sponsor for several years. It led to an insightful revelation: Many people in the queer community, for instance trans women or drag queens, have a hard time finding shoes in their sizes, especially when it comes to statement footwear. This highlights a wider blind spot within fashion, as a lot of consumers, also outside of the queer community, experience challenges finding designer shoes in their size, the company said in a press release.

For smaller designer brands, offering inclusive sizing can be challenging due to the costs associated with the production of additional shoe moulds outside the typical size range of 36 to 41 for women’s shoes. In order to help overcome this challenge, Zalando has provided a monetary investment for producing inclusive-size shoe moulds to the seven designer brands who created the collection. With the new moulds, the brands can continue creating size-inclusive collections independently in the future and inspire more brands to follow in the footsteps as well.

“The path to inclusivity starts with walking a mile in someone else's shoes. The inclusive footwear collection and the aptly named ‘Walk a Mile’ campaign accompanying it represent our effort to do just that. The collection is another step forward in our journey towards being a truly inclusive destination. This collection wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of the seven designer brands, which have been incredible to work with to achieve this vision. This type of teamwork is essential across the industry, and we hope this is one of many collections of this nature we will work on to help make fashion inclusive for all,” Lena-Sophie Röper, director designer and luxury at Zalando, said.

The collection pays into Zalando’s vision to be the starting point for fashion, welcoming to everyone. With its D&I strategy, do.BETTER, the company has committed to offer a truly diverse assortment for underrepresented groups by providing product choices and thoughtful experiences in every category across price, size, and style.

The collection is accompanied by a marketing campaign named ‘Walk a Mile’ featuring English-born model and mental health advocate Reece King, model and advocate of gender diversity in fashion Raya Martigny, a Brazilian DJ and member of queer creative collective ‘Chernobyl’ Slim Soledad, and American model Maggie Mauer.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)