Dive Brief:

• The Forever 21 partnership with Nine West launches Thursday and features nine styles, including platform heels, stilettos and wedges, with prices ranging from $49.99 to $54.99.
• Both companies are owned by New York-based Authentic Brands Group, which has over 40 brands in its portfolio, including Nautica, Frye, Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand.
• Last month, ABG expanded its portfolio yet again by buying surf apparel brand Boardriders, which owns Quiksilver and Billabong and brings in about $2.9 billion in revenue each year.

Dive Insight:

The collaboration’s aesthetic is a play to straddle several generations, with sky-high heels in pink, yellow and iridescent tones, alongside equally teetering shoes in neutral black, white and tan shades. 

The styles also echo the footwear worn by Juno Temple in “Ted Lasso,” whose Keeley character is often seen wearing Y2K-inspired outfits accentuated with platform heels in bold colors.

Forever 21 has previously released collaborations with brands that have a younger demographic, such as Barbie and Sanrio.

However, Nine West customers trend older than the Forever 21 demographic, and this collaboration could be a way to better align the two customer bases. 

When ABG acquired Nine West in 2018, Ray Hartjen, who was then the head of marketing for RetailNext and currently head of content at LeanData, told Retail Dive that Nine West typically appealed to “women starting careers, who needed to change out Chuck Taylor All Stars.” Hartjen also described it as a “mall-wear” brand for customers looking for dressier weekend wear. On the other hand, Forever 21 appeals to a younger demographic, typically between 17 and 24.

In an email to Fashion Dive, Winnie Park, CEO of Forever 21, said she sees Forever 21 as a brand that “transcends multiple demographics, from Gen X to Gen Z,” and added that the new partnership is “an opportunity to speak to a spectrum of generations.”

Park said the collaboration also allowed Forever 21 to step into “dressier footwear” and tap into some of Nine West’s history. “As Y2K fashion has been trending, we also thought bringing a bit of Nine West’s heritage to our customers” would be appealing, she said.

The shoe collection is available in women’s sizes 5.5 to 10, and will be sold at select Forever 21 stores, on Forever21.com and on the Forever 21 mobile app.

ABG acquired Forever 21 in 2020, and Nine West in 2018. This new footwear brand crossover is in line with its overall strategy to generate partnerships and collaborations, such as those it has worked on for Reebok, which it acquired from Adidas last year.