AAFA presents 40th annual Image Awards

The American Apparel and Footwear Association hosted its 40th AAFA Image Awards last night with a sold-out event celebrating the accomplishments of the fashion and retail industry. The event was hosted by internationally renowned journalist and author Katie Couric and honored leaders, influencers and innovators in the apparel and footwear industry, and also benefitted the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation.

This year's honorees included Person of the Year, Emanuel (Manny) Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH Corp.; Company of the Year, Camuto Group; Designer of the Year, Joseph Altuzarra; Retailer of the Year, Fred Segal; and Fashion Maverick, Mansur Gavriel.

At this year's event, there was a diverse array of attendees, including Paralympian Amy Purdy, who is working to raise awareness of the need for fashion options for people with prosthetic legs. Purdy fell in love with footwear thanks to Vince Camuto, who has managed to create heels that are the perfect fit for her. "The first thing I said when I met Vince Camuto's president tonight was please don't get rid of this style of shoe, because they are the only shoes I wear," Purdy said referring to her footwear for the evening.

She is hoping through her continued work as an advocate and getting involved with AAFA she can help the industry address the needs for people with prosthetic limbs and create more adaptive fashion. "Shoes are missing from the adaptive fashion world," she said. "We need a shoe company that works with prosthetic legs or other challenges people, because shoes are a big deal. I have an entire closet full of them. If I find a pair of shoes that work for my feet, it almost doesn't matter the cost, I buy them up. It's that challenging to find shoes that work. To walk into a department store and think I want to buy a pair of black sandals, there will be one pair out of a thousand that actually work for my feet." Purdy is hoping to eventually get involved with shoe design to address these needs.

In a challenging retail environment, being able to speak to different kinds of customers is more important than ever. Ruthie Davis, founder and designer of Ruthie Davis, feels that speaking directly to her consumer has been more important to her success. "My number one revenue service is Ruthiedavis.com," she said. "The fact that I can post something on Instagram and see the sales come in to the site, that's just a really great time. There's a lot of shakeups with department stores and brick-and-mortar retail, and everyone's trying to change the formula, so it's a very exciting time to be part of the industry."

As an independent designer, Davis feels that she's at an advantage in the current retail climate. "I'm very 'have laptop will travel,'" she said. "I get to be out and about, be with my customers, and I get to travel and see different places where people wear my shoes and what they dress like. The way the internet and websites are working, customers have the technology down, so if they like a shoe or brand, they don't have to go to a department store to buy it, they can go directly to the brand's website."

Katie Couric hosts 40th annual AAFA Image Awards

Some designers have seen the advantage of being part of a larger holding company though. Since joining Camuto group, which makes all of her shoes, designer Rebecca Minkoff has seen strong growth in her footwear category. Known for her accessibly priced designer handbags, the growth in streetwear has caused Minkoff to adjust her approach to design. "My customer wants more t-shirts than fancy dresses now," she said. "We make sure nowadays that we have that streetwear component that our girl wants to sport. Our business is 60/40 athleisure casual then soften wovens. Currently, we are expanding very fast in Europe and are hoping to continue that."

Globally distribution channels are continuing to change, but companies, like PVH, are on top of their game. "Both our footwear and apparel business are strong here in the United States, and overseas in Asia we are seeing very strong results as well," Chirico said to FashionUnited. "One of the biggest challenges we are seeing though is the distribution channels are changing so much. There's pressure on brick-and-mortar, and at the same time there's significant growth online. Managing global brands in that kind of environment is a little tricky and the lines are starting to blur in distribution channels."

Despite a changing retail landscape, PVH is still seeing strong growth in their international markets. "Our strongest business overall is in Europe with our footwear," Chirico said. "We are seeing tremendous growth with both our Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger business, and I think that should continue given the momentum of the brands."

When asked what he's loved about working with icons like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein's creative director Raf Simons, Chirico said, "The energies they both bring to their brands brings inspiration beyond belief. With Raf, we are really seeing the elevation in design. On the preppier side of things with Tommy, the business has really been on fire. The growth we are seeing internationally in Asia and Europe has exceeded our expectations, and that's a testament to what they've built."

Altuzarra, who has spent the last two years building his accessories business found the secret to continuing his success through appealing to people's emotions. "Emotional pieces are really important right now," he said. "That's what the industry wants, and that's what women want. They want pieces that feel like they aren't just product that feel like they aren't connected to."

The designer, who recently took his runway show to Paris Fashion Week last year, has been seeing a strong response from customers already for his footwear and accessories. "It's been really exciting for us. We started small, and that's been an important part of our strategy, and it's paid off so far," he said.

The footwear industry has continued to influence everything from streetwear to entertainment. Actor Brett Gray of Netflix's "On My Block" was in attendance representing his recently renewed TV show and the sneakerheads of the film industry. "I'm a really big sneakerhead, following everything from Hypebeast to the sneaker blogs," he said. "My shoe collection rotates between 12 to 20 pair of sneakers."

His love for shoe also affects how he plays Jamal, his character on "On my Block." "Jamal in the series has to deal with Nike, and all of his sneakers are completely exclusive. He's just as a big of a sneaker head as I am and I actually requested that in the first wardrobe fitting," Gray said.

In remarks after the show, AAFA Chairman Tom Glaser thanked attendees saying, "On behalf of the board of directors, congratulations to the honorees and thank you to everyone that joined us for such a special event.” Shall we continue to step in the name of fashionable shoes?

photos: credit Dave Kotinsky for Getty Images