Footwear Plus

TALK ABOUT GETTING an early start: Calleen Cordero, the designer behind the eponymous line, began her career in the footwear industry at age 15 as an assistant buyer at a high-end Los Angeles-based boutique. By age 16, she was hired as a merchandiser for Sam Edelman.

Reality TV star and ink artist Kat Von D launches an eponymous footwear collection.

WHILE HER NAME may have made headlines most recently for her on-again, off-again relationship with Jesse James (Sandra Bullocks infamous reality TV star ex-husband), devotees of the TLC Show LA Ink know that Kat Von Ds true claim to fame lies in her impressive abilities as one of the worlds best-known tattoo artists. So when the opportunity arose to create a clothing and footwear line, the ink impresario felt it would be a natural next step.

The latest sport craze for adrenaline junkies is not for the faint of heart-or the poorly shod.

IF YOU FIND backflips and yoga intimidating under normal circumstances, imagine performing these feats on a one-inch-wide line strung 100 feet above a rocky ravine. For Andy Lewis, arguably the worlds best slackliner, thats nothing. Try adding fire. Or doing it naked.

The duo behind Sendra introduces a new fair-trade brand using traditional Guatemalan fabric.

Sheepskin boot brand Bearpaw heeds customer requests for more men's styles.

With everyone from tween girls to Grammy Award-winning country crooners like Gretchen Wilson sporting Bearpaws nowadays, it may seem like the brand has tapped the market. But as Bearpaw devotees repeatedly posted on Facebook and Twitter, the company was missing out on one major chunk of the footwear industry: men.

New Balance debuts its custom American-made project in New York.

What's the best way to get the word out about your Made in the U.S.A. bona fides? For New Balance, it meant bringing bloggers and fashion stylists to a swanky underground New York bar to create a custom pair of American-made shoes while sipping custom cocktails—named in honor of some of the nation's most iconic figures, like Johnny Appleseed.

Former Titan design director Eric Rutberg reveals a bold, eponymous collection.

Columbia aims to outpace its outdoor competitors with a waterproof minimalist collection.

"Less is more" might be the most influential philosophy in footwear at the moment, and it certainly is at Columbia, says Mark Nenow, vice president of footwear. Inspired by the minimalist movement racing through the athletic world, the company is releasing 25 new lightweight styles for Spring '12, including a trail running shoe, the Ravenous Lite, weighing in at just over six ounces.

Sandal brand Rider revamps by basking in its Brazilian heritage.

With Hollywood flocking to Brazil to shoot some of the industry's hottest blockbusters (The Incredible Hulk, Fast Five and the next Twilight film, just to name a few) and the World Cup and summer Olympics slated to take place in Rio de Janeiro in the coming years, one thing is certain: Brazil is booming.

Who knew that shoes were supposed to fit?

As someone who grew up in the 90's and had my last shoe fitting at age seven, its become clear to me that size does, in fact, matter. Shoes arent supposed to hurt.