Toeing The Designer Line

Tag : shoes jordan


IN RECENT YEARS ATHLETES HAVE been drawn to couture like so manymoths to the runway footlights; witness Dennis Rodman 's appearances on MTV 's ""House of Style'' or volleyball powerhouse Gabrielle Reece 's photo shoots for Elle. Now it's the designers who are havingreal success merging sports and fashion. Two of this year's hottestathletic shoes--long a sign of jock success--bear the names not ofMichael Jordan or Grant Hill but of Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan .

Michael probably doesn't have to worry about going toe to toe withTommy on the court, but Adidas and Fila just might. In addition toDKNY and TH Athletics, Nautica's Competition line of shoes isalready selling well (and worn on the hardwood by Charlotte Hornetsforward Glen Rice). Ralph Lauren is expected to launch Polo Sportperformance shoes in spring '99, and Calvin Klein is rumored to beconsidering licensing deals. Salomon Brothers footwear analyst Brett Barakett projects that by 1999, designer shoes could make up 7 percent ofthe $8 billion U.S. athletic footwear market. Barakett estimatesthat the Hilfiger line will rake in $65 million in sales in itsfirst year, ""an impressive debut.''

Still, Nike spokesman Lee Weinstein doesn't seem too worried: ""It's one thingto slap a logo on a pair of shoes; it's quite another to be workingwith the world's top athletes,'' as Nike claims to do. Butlicensees like Stride Rite (Hilfiger) and Reebok's Rockport (PoloSport) will take care of technology; in any case, industry expertssay that less than 20 percent of consumers actually wear athleticshoes for sports purposes. Just ask Joaquin Phillips, 19, whoproudly points to the shoes he and two friends are wearing as theyhang out in New York's East Village. ""Right now,'' he says, ""I'drather watch basketball on TV wearing my Tommy Hilfigers than myAir Jordans.''