{"id":359180,"date":"2014-01-17T15:30:41","date_gmt":"2014-01-17T21:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=359180"},"modified":"2018-12-30T13:06:16","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T18:06:16","slug":"ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronnie Fieg Talks “COA” PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the work of Ronnie Fieg<\/strong> is an everyday duty for our editorial staff at Snkrs Day. Over the past seven years, Fieg\u2019s backstory as a stockroom worker at David Z turned designer has become well known, but it\u2019s keeping up with his ongoing endeavors that has us and the rest of the industry constantly on our toes. After rising to the top ranks of footwear in the US via acclaimed collaborative projects and returning to the retail realm with Kith, Fieg focused his eyes on Paris’ famed Men’s Fashion Week for the launch of his “Coat of Arms” project, highlighted by the PUMA Disc Blaze<\/a>. We ventured across the pond to talk with Fieg about the birth of the project, the ever-changing marketplace and the intersection between footwear and high fashion.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: What was the catalyst for the Coat Of Arms project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> It didn’t start out with that concept. The whole Coat of Arms, the Parisian flag, means unity. That kind of mixes in with our ‘Just Us’ mentality at Kith, but it started off with a color palette that I put together for a wedding party in Brazil, actually. My friend got married and she asked me to design the gallery that she put together after her wedding. She had three parts to her wedding, and I put together this amazing space and I used these colors, but it was white instead of black – so it was coral, white and mint.<\/p>\n

When Yassin and I started working on this project, I was told that it wouldn’t be able to ship in spring. I thought it would come in December, so we needed to switch up the colors. I wanted it to be something appropriate for that time of year. Then it got pushed back, because production wouldn’t be ready until January. I wanted to do it in Paris, but it was Yassin’s idea to do it during Men’s Fashion Week. The Coat of Arms was already in place, but then the whole idea of apparel and working with all my favorite independent designers came into place.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: You got your start in sneakers, but we’re seeing you get more into fashion with the Kith line. What special things did you want to do with the Coat of Arms project by bringing it to Men’s Fashion Week?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> I wanted to really highlight my favorite independent designers, which are ISAORA and John Elliott, and also our own brand which is really starting to take off and gain a substantial following. I wanted to bring it into Men’s Fashion Week because those designers are already involved in Fashion Week, but this is another way to bring them closer to my demographic – the sneakerhead, the person who loves footwear and athletics. Usually, you’ll see Men’s Fashion Week apparel pieces go with high fashion, designer shoes. What we were able to accomplish here is taking an athletic, classic silhouette and really souping it up so it can sit next to those pieces. The goal was really to take my aesthetic up a notch and bring fashion into our world and put them side by side, let those worlds intertwine.<\/p>\n photo by Ugly Mely<\/a>\n

Snkrs Day: Do you think that we’re going to see our sneaker world get into fashion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> We’ve seen it already. As somebody as iconic as Kanye or A$AP Rocky starts to shift his way of dressing, it trickles down to everyone in that scene. You have the whole hip-hop scene getting more into fashion. Then you have the sneaker dude, and it’s really trickling down to him, too. It’s really trickled down to the whole market. Fashion has been taking more of a major play in our world now for the last couple of years. This is a step to even further that. I think that the kid will start to dress in higher fashion pieces. This is going to be a nice case study for that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: We talk about ‘that kid’ a lot. For you, who is that kid?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> It’s anybody that wants to be different. It’s anybody that wants to educate themselves on differentiating themselves from big box store general releases to something special that they won’t see on everybody. They can feel that feeling that I had growing when I would get a special piece and dress it up with things that people didn’t understand. It’s a form of self expression. I see this as being a way that kids can really express themselves. That’s the kid – it’s any kid that wants to be different, and I think that population is growing heavily.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: Seven years ago when we had our first interview, you brought up the importance of meticulous attention to quality. Tell me about how important quality is to you to this day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> That has never changed. It’s always quality first. It’s really something that’s been a staple in my mindset. The base of any project is really seeing how premium the product can be when it’s finished. The concept has to tie into that aesthetic from the beginning. That’s why this project works so well. The PUMA Disc Blaze is already ahead of its time. It has that cage, that futuristic, more of a fashion forward look. Adding the black leathers and those different pigskins and nubucks really elevates the silhouette. The quality is always most important. If you look at any project I’ve ever worked on in terms of footwear, you will always be able to tell the difference between my project and another project because of the quality of the goods. Making sure the customer gets more than what they pay for has always been the motto and always will be.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: The market’s always shifting. What do you think we’re going to see happen in 2014 in terms of the consumer base and what they gravitate towards?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> One thing we know is that the consumer is getting smarter. In general, the younger generation is getting smarter. My nephews are over here, two years old, playing with an iPad and they know how to take pictures of themselves. My middle nephew’s nine and he knows how to send e-mails. It’s a new era. We know that the younger kid is smarter and that they’re more educated. It’s become harder for anyone that’s producing anything because it’s harder to get their attention and they lack patience. In an industry where the kids have no patience and they’re educated, it’s impossible to gain any sort of momentum if you don’t put out a quality product. I still have that mindset of a kid. I’m a fanbody of a lot of sh*t. I’m the same as any other kid that’s into footwear – I’m that kid. I’ll never put myself above that. I’m still that same fiend as when I started.<\/p>\n

Snkrs Day: You say the term ‘fanboy.’ I’m sure a lot of your fanboys would love to know who you’re a fanboy of.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> I’m older now. I’m 31. I’m dressing a little bit different, so I’m a fan of higher aesthetics than I used to be. I very much love what Visvim does because they always pay attention to detail and they never cut corners in terms of how they produce things. White Mountaineering is another one – they just outdo themselves. Every year they get better and better. I still like what Carhartt in Europe does, they always kill it. I’m starting to dress a little different, so fashion forward brands. My favorite fashion forward brand would be Philip Lim. Phil Lim is doing great things. As we move forward, you’re going to see that the apparel for Kith is going to get more and more sophisticated in terms of the materials that we’re using and the finishes on the materials. My taste level in apparel changes with my age, it’s just how I implement those things into goods that will be marketable to my marketplace. Just taking different aspects and small but important pieces of what I like and implementing them into a system that’s gaining a serious following is going to be interesting to see.<\/p>\n photo by Ugly Mely<\/a>\n

Snkrs Day: Do you see a challenge focusing on footwear as the Kith apparel line continues to grow?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie Fieg:<\/strong> The footwear will always be the main focus. I have five guys on my team that are employed in-house that work on the apparel non-stop, everyday. For the footwear I have nobody. I work on the footwear solely and I have help on the apparel. The footwear will never get less time than it’s getting or has gotten. That continues to be my main focus and it always will be. I can honestly say that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the work of Ronnie Fieg is an everyday duty for our editorial staff at Snkrs Day. Over the past seven years, Fieg\u2019s backstory as a stockroom worker at David Z turned designer has become well known, but it\u2019s keeping up with his ongoing endeavors that has us and the rest of the industry constantly on our toes. After rising to the top ranks of footwear in the US via acclaimed collaborative projects and returning to the retail realm with Kith, Fieg focused his eyes on Paris’ famed Men’s Fashion Week for the launch of his “Coat of Arms” project, highlighted by the PUMA Disc Blaze. We ventured across the pond to talk with Fieg about the birth of the project, the ever-changing marketplace and the intersection between footwear and high fashion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[618],"tags":[199,331181],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRonnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear | Snkrs Day<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ronnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks "COA" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Snkrs Day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NiceKicks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/matthalfhill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-17T21:30:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-30T18:06:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2016\/10\/asnkrsdaya-logo-959-400.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"959\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Halfhill\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/matthalfhill\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@snkrsday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Halfhill\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"ItemPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/\",\"name\":\"Ronnie Fieg Talks \\\"COA\\\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear | Snkrs Day\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-17T21:30:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-30T18:06:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks \\\"COA\\\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks \\\"COA\\\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\",\"name\":\"Snkrs Day\",\"description\":\"Sneakers News. Culture. Community.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Snkrs Day\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"Snkrs Day\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NiceKicks\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/nicekicks\",\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nicekicks\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/asnkrsdaya\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@snkrsday\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/nicekicks\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear | Snkrs Day","description":"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/","next":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear","og_description":"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/","og_site_name":"Snkrs Day","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snkrsday","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/matthalfhill","article_published_time":"2014-01-17T21:30:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-12-30T18:06:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":959,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2016\/10\/asnkrsdaya-logo-959-400.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matt Halfhill","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/matthalfhill","twitter_site":"@snkrsday","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Halfhill","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["WebPage","ItemPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/","name":"Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear | Snkrs Day","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-01-17T21:30:41+00:00","dateModified":"2018-12-30T18:06:16+00:00","description":"Where to buy Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear shoes. Snkrs Day has release dates, prices, and where to find Ronnie Fieg Talks \"COA\" PUMA Collaboration, High Fashion and Focusing on Footwear for sale.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/ronnie-fieg-talks-coa-puma-collaboration-high-fashion-and-focusing-on-footwear\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/","name":"Snkrs Day","description":"Sneakers News. Culture. Community.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#organization","name":"Snkrs Day","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/files\/2020\/10\/nice-box-400-225.png","width":400,"height":225,"caption":"Snkrs Day"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snkrsday","https:\/\/x.com\/snkrsday","http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/snkrsday","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/asnkrsdaya","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@snkrsday","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/snkrsday"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359180"},{"taxonomy":"cultivate_rss","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cultivate_rss?post=359180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}