Martha Stewart Is Launching a Footwear Collection with Easy Spirit Priced Under $100
Jennie Bell
Deputy Managing Editor
Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has been #lockdowngoals for many people over the past year, keeping occupied with gardening, cooking, raising baby geese and discovering the benefits of CBD (which she parlayed into a line of wellness products).
Now, Stewart is debuting a new footwear collaboration with Easy Spirit to help consumers ease their way back into normal life.
The Martha Stewart x Easy Spirit collection launches today at Easyspirit.com and with several major retailers, among them Macy’s, Zappos, Nordstrom.com and QVC.com. For the spring season, it will offer 11 styles priced from $59-$95, including several sandals, a ballet flat, an athleisure sneaker and a gardening clog, as well as a waterproof boot that Stewart has put to good use. “The boots in my new Easy Spirit collection are so comfortable and are the perfect boots to wear around the farm,” she told FN.
Three more collections will roll out later in the year, for summer, fall and the holidays. All will incorporate Easy Spirit’s core comfort features, including cushioning, arch support, extended sizing, energy return technology and slip-resistance soles.
Stewart noted that the collection is meant to be stylish and versatile in terms of its design, incorporating various earth tones, plus shades of blue and black. “These sorts of colors work well to compliment my own day-to-day wardrobe, which is simple yet timeless,” she said.
Overall, Stewart said, “I wanted to create a collection that offers women both function and beauty when it comes to their footwear — at an affordable price.”
This isn’t Stewart’s first foray into shoes: She previously served as an ambassador for Aerosoles in 2018, and that same year announced a collaboration with Payless on a vegan capsule collection.
This latest venture is in partnership with Easy Spirit parent Marc Fisher Footwear and Marquee Brands — the licensing company that acquired the Martha Stewart label from Sequential Brands Group in 2019.
Susan Itzkowitz, president of Marc Fisher Footwear, said the company linked up with Stewart to help fuel expansion of its retail distribution in the U.S. and abroad, and to build more brand awareness among consumers.
“We tapped the ‘maker of easy,’ Martha Stewart, because we believe anything is possible when you’re comfortable — and making life easier is what matters most,” Itzkowitz said in a statement. “It is a universal spirit shared by women of all ages from all walks of life, and Martha can amplify our mission to making all women comfortable in a big way.”
To promote the collaboration, Marc Fisher will launch a full media buy that includes digital video, social media advertising, direct mail, programmatic display and influencer partnerships.
It also has created a digital content series, called “Get Comfortable with Martha,” through which Stewart will share posts from her home about topics she cares about — fashion, wellness, family — and discuss how the footwear fits into her busy lifestyle.
And she does stay busy, even during a pandemic. The 79-year-old is a well-known early bird who rises at 5 a.m. each day to get a jump on her many business initiatives, as well as those DIY projects around her home. So are there any new habits she has picked up over the past year? “I find that I am doing daily puzzles: crossword, KenKen, wordplay. I am pretty hooked and will do them post-pandemic as a result,” she said.
And there are still plenty of items on her to-do list. “[I’ve been] getting very organized everywhere at my house and around the farm, even more than ever before,” she said. “This thorough type of organizing takes perseverance and lots of time but is totally worth it in the long run.”
