Revolutionizing Nude Shoes: One Founder And Her Inclusive Luxury Skin-Tone-Based Shoe Line
For decades, the infamous nude colored shoe has featured only a few shades and has not encompassed the full spectrum of skin tones representing women of countless walks of life. One founder, African born and American raised, who goes by the name of Jeneba Barrie aims to take the shoe world by storm and rewrite this historical narrative.
Barrie expresses becoming enamored with creating the most diverse and inclusive luxury nude (skin-tone) footwear line on the market, due to seeing a divide that has persisted for so many. ” 85% of the global population cannot find their shade in products labeled as ‘nude’ —think foundation, lipstick lingerie, and yes, even footwear. The nude shoe definition has excluded a huge part of the population, namely, women of color,” Barrie shares.
To serve as a solution to this divide, Barrie created Jeneba Barrie Nude Footwear. A shoe line with the tag line of “nude footwear that is true to hue.” With the brand, Barrie has designed 13 true to hue nude (skin-tone) shoes for women of diverse backgrounds and walks of life. Each luxury shoe is designed by a producer in Italy with some of the finest leather available; 100% sourced Italian leather.
Identifying the Need & Scaling the Idea
Barrie, the founder and creative director, is an attorney by trade who stumbled upon the idea almost eight years ago at a family member’s graduation in 2011. As she prepared to attend the graduation, both she and her sister were thrilled about their identical pair of nude pumps. Their shoes were the previously traditional nude shade of beige. During that time, Barrie recalls asking herself: “Why are they called nude? Why aren’t there shades for all skin tones available?” That moment would change the nude shoe game forever.
Over the eight-year period, Barrie conducted market research and began scaling a team to see her idea to fruition. Today, her team four is taking the market by storm. To fund the endeavors they have created a crowdsourcing page to garner venture backing. And to make the endeavor most feasible, Barrie and colleagues seek to utilize all monetary support to 1) order materials, 2) produce the shoes, and 3) scale to reach their growing and ecstatic customer base.
The Value Add: Nude Shoe Versatility
In July of 2019, the product will be ready for wearers across the globe. The great benefit of the shoes as Barrie expresses is that: “A good pair of nude shoes give the wearer a seamless look and can be worn with anything in a person’s wardrobe. These nude shoes are designed to afford everyday women true nude versatility.”
To meet this goal, the founder has created the debut style of a classic pointed toe stiletto that will be available in Nappa leather and suede. The two heel lengths, which Barre shares are 3.5-inches and 4.1-inches: “can take women from the boardroom to happy hour and even running errands on the town.”
To date, countless women and men have expressed support of product recommending that it has been one of the most ingenious of its kind to enter the shoe world and create diverse and inclusive options for all. The crowdsourced project has already been overfunded and highly anticipated.
Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanychambers/2019/03/18/revolutionizing-nude-shoes-one-founder-her-inclusive-luxury-skin-tone-based-shoe-line/#2fc569922f63
