DSW Will Invest $2 Million Into The First Black-Owned U.S Shoe Factory
DSW To Invest $2M Into First Black-Owned Footwear Factory In The U.S.
Source: Jeff Greenberg / Getty
Designer Brands, parent company of the billion dollar footwear company DSW, announced it would be partnering with the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC) and put $2 million towards helping the school create the first Black-owned footwear factory in the United States. The workshop will be called JEMS by Pensole, where the shoes designed by PLC students will be sold exclusively at DSW locations throughout the country.
“The footwear industry needs more diversity. The partnership we are entering into with Designer Brands and DSW is a new business model that truly empowers the consumer to influence the industry toward that goal,” PLC president Dr. D’Wayne Edwards said in a press statement. “Together with Pensole, Designer Brands and DSW will provide designers opportunities to offer new products directly to consumers. Along the way we will create careers and invest in talented aspiring designers to become the future of our industry.”
Located in Detroit, MI, PLC was the state’s only HBCU before closing down in 2015 due to low enrollment and loss of accreditation. However, its new president Dr. D’Wayne Edwards fought to become the institution’s majority stakeholder and will reopen PLC this coming March.
The acronym JEMS (in the factory’s name) stands for “Jan Ernst Matzeliger Studio,” and it is in tribute to the Black Surinamer who invented the shoe lasting machine in 1883. Matzeliger’s creation revolutionized the shoe industry worldwide, allowing for mass production at cheaper costs while increasing employment opportunities for those may not have been trained as cobblers.
PLC names Target, the Motor City’s College for Creative Studies, and the Gilbert Family Foundation as its founding partners. PLC also secured strategic partnerships with a number of footwear-oriented brands like Foot Locker, New Balance, and Adidas. But this cash infusion by DSW is a strong gesture of commitment towards PLC and increasing Black representation among creatives in that space.
“We see the footwear industry lacking effective representation by people of color, specifically Blacks, and this $2 million investment will address root causes to remove barriers,” said Designer Brands CEO Roger Rawlins. “Blacks represent less than five percent of those across all design industries, thus lacking much-needed diversity. Designer Brands and DSW’s commitment with Pensole will create a U.S.-based shoe factory, with the goal of all work leading to the launch of Black designers’ brands inside of DSW.”
