Launching his career in footwear by selling shoes out of the back of his trunk in the year 1990 with $1,100 to his name, American fashion designer and businessman Steve Madden quickly rose to fame for his iconic shoe silhouettes such as platform Mary Jane’s, slinky black sandals (which are now being re-released in collaboration with Urban Outfitters), and white platform sneakers as well as his “big head” ads, which released in the early 2000s. While Madden’s life has often been subject to serious public scrutiny (a character was based on him in the 2013 drama Wolf of Wall Street) while he also served time in prison, and had his own Netflix documentary, Maddmen (2017), after 30 years, his business remains profitable and increasingly relevant.
Last week, Madden got real with students at SCADstyle -- a series of panels and discussions where fashion industry folks talk about their career learnings at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. In conversation with Aya Kanai, fashion director at Hearst Publications, Madden revealed many nuggets of wisdom, telling the audience, “If you set up realistic goals, you tend to get disappointed very quickly and you don't want to keep setting goals and hitting them. Keep going about your advertising.” He also talked about how he’s scaled his company, announcing that the brand will soon launch its own apparel line (OMG!).
Teen Vogue spoke with Steve about how nostalgia never goes out of style, getting older, and why naivete is the key to success.
Teen Vogue: What would you say have been some of the brand’s most iconic designs or items to date?
Steve Madden: Oh, that's a tough question. There’s this one shoe from the 90s that everybody talks about it, it’s an elastic shoe, and then we made all these big bottom shoes and now, I'm making all these great sneakers. So I don't think it's any one thing. But there was a moment where every kid had to have Steve Maddens.
TV: How do you honor the brand's legacy while still innovating your products?
SM: It's not so easy to do that because you want to keep it and be innovative, but you don't want to abandon your look either. It's a fine line. It's not an easy thing.
TV: How would you define the spirit of your shoes?
SM: Whimsical. Sexy.
TV: How have you responded to the nostalgia trend where all these styles from the 90s are coming back in?
SM: I've done many interviews in my life and people are always talking about nostalgia in every interview. The 90s were great. Everything is always coming back. But all fashion things die.
TV: How has Steve Madden reflected some of those shifts?
SM: I was really plugged into the whole vibe of platforms in the 70s and how that influenced a kid. So, we brought it back. I don't think we single-handedly did it. We were definitely one of the innovators. And it was great. It was a big thing. And then, then we evolved into tailored shoes. They were clunky, chunky, shoes and everybody just ate them up, you know?
TV: It seems like you and your team really value collaboration from the other profiles I've read about you. How is that a hallmark of your creative process?
SM: I love working with people. I love to be around energetic, young people.
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