The Art of Diversification:

Espadrille King Andre Assous is Broadening His Horizons with a Fashionable New Label and Sophisticated Ad Campaign

Source: Footwear News
Publication Date: 01/10/2000
Author: Siu, Tammy
COPYRIGHT 2000 Fairchild Publications, Inc.


Designer Andre Assous is out to re-establish his brand image, and he wants it made clear that he is about more than just the espadrille.

No one could argue that the Spanish-style shoe is closely linked to the Assous name. Back in the early 1970s, he and former partner Jacques Cohen first brought the peasant style to the U.S. market from Europe. The shoe -- featuring a linen/hemp upper stitched to a wedge bottom -- created quite a stir among American women, who fell in love with its simplicity, comfort and all-natural appeal.

But the New York-based designer asserts that his company is not limited to that one look. Assous is out to prove his diversity with the debut of a new line called Collection, featuring chic, sexy women's styles in an array of colors. And he is backing up the launch -- as well as his other lines -- with a sophisticated new print-advertising campaign.

"We want to show that we are not only into featherweights and espadrilles," Assous said. "We have many other items as well."

For the past few years, the company has had a relatively low profile. As the popularity of the espadrille style declined after 1994, Andre Assous managed to maintain steady business through its solid reputation, and generate sales from other products, including the designer's light-as-air EVA-bottomed Featherweights footwear collection.

The company is now ready to step into the limelight with its latest label, according to Andre Assous Vice President of Sales Dan Burdman.

Collection, which will hit retail for spring 2000, brings the Andre Assous name to a sassier, more contemporary consumer with its sweet, feminine pieces. The new line allows Andre Assous to expand its current offerings into the categories of special occasion and evening shoes.

Inspired by the new millennium, Collection incorporates delicate strappy slides and mirrored embellishments in colorful jewel tones, metallics and pastels. The line is also accompanied by matching handbags.

"We feel that of the thousands and thousands of brands offered, the winners are really those that are recognizable and accepted by the consumer and those that deliver on the promise of fashion, quality and comfort," Burdman said. "While we still do substantial Featherweights and espadrille business, it is important to try and enhance the brand to make Andre Assous a recognizable name in the bridge marketplace."

Influenced by hippie-chic, East Indian-inspired fashions, the company is using embroidery and colorful adornments in its lines, including the espadrille collection.

Assous said he has been paying close attention to the runways and fashion in the south of France, and he predicts the espadrille will soon re-enter the mainstream fashion market. "When Yves St. Laurent starts showing espadrilles," he said, "you know the fashion will come back."

To promote the new label -- and make the Andre Assous name in general more visible -- the company is taking a more forward approach to marketing, Burdman said.

As part of its marketing push, the company has hired New York-based Imagenet to pull together a series of print advertisements, which have already appeared in trade and consumer magazines such as Marie Claire, Mode and Florida publication Ocean Drive.

Gary Halby, president and creative director of Imagenet, said the concept behind the print advertisements were based on what the agency and the shoe company felt was the most effective way to reach its consumers: simple product appeal.

Imagenet created an ad for each of Assous's lines. The campaign sets the designer's sleek shoes and handbags against clean, white backdrops, with the footwear fanned out in a rainbow of colors.

"[We wanted to] add a new dimension to the shoes," Hably explained. "We wanted to give [the brand] a flavor with colors and texture in a very graphic presentation. There is so much clutter in today's publications, but this is something that comes across as very contemporary and very clean."

According to Burdman, the response to the company's new line and advertising so far has been positive.

"Andre Assous is a bridge collection targeted at contemporary fashion women," Burdman said. "It is not avant-garde, it is not junior, it is not traditional. It is for a savvy woman who is looking for, as all women are looking for, fashion that feels good."