With her new spring footwear collection, singer, entrepreneur, and American Idol judge Katy Perry is embracing sustainable style.
The relaunch of the Katy Perry Collection brand comes after the first collection dropped in 2017. A lot has changed since then, both for the brand and the new mom. Now that Perry has retained ownership of the brand, she’s releasing 19 new styles including platforms and kitten heels, loafers, sandals, sneakers, and wedges.
“I had the opportunity to either let my brand kind of slowly fade away into nothingness, or take on the challenge and bet on myself, as I do most of the time, and just up my game and really mean what I say when I say I want to be that boss ass b—h,” Perry told WWD.
Katy Perry Collection
The new collection, like a growing number of footwear brands, embraces vegan alternatives to leather. Cole Haan just released its first vegan leather shoes made from dandelion flowers, and earlier this year, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein linked up with Ecovative’s mycelium cooperative. It’s working on mushroom leather for shoes and apparel.
Perry says her goal is to elevate the brand’s sustainability commitments, by increasing the eco-friendly materials in the footwear. It’s currently using vegan leather, PVC, and canvas. But with a growing number of sustainable textiles on the market, the brand is looking at new opportunities. It’s also exploring expanding to include styles for children as well as handbags.
The new collection features floral and gingham patterns.
“They are elevated personality pieces at a really great price point that you can’t find all the time,” Perry said. “You can get some classics out there at a good price point, but something that has a real quirky sense of humor or is playful, usually you’re having to spend between $450 to $750. My fans can’t always splurge like that. I’m super mindful of them and I’m reminded of where I was when I was in my 20s financially, so I want to honor that while still being able to offer the customer something really quality and really fun,” she said.
“I’m excited because [spring] is my favorite season when everything starts to come back to life and we thaw out,” Perry said. “I am a product of the sun and I am a California girl. I want to get that pedicure and I want to let my feet breathe and look cute in gingham and pastels. Anything Easter-themed is my vibe.”
De Soi
The Katy Perry Collections relaunch comes after another business project launched earlier this year, the non-alcoholic aperitif brand De Soi.
“I’m not saying no to alcohol ever,” Perry told Elle last month. “But I’m 37. I wanted more of a balance during the week, when I put my daughter to bed at 7:30 and want to unwind but not necessarily with wine. And I thinnnnk this is going to be huge,” she said.
Sustainability is coming to both the apparel and wellness industries in big ways. Recent consumer data shows customers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are more interested in supporting sustainable brands. They’re more willing to spend money with them, too. So is Gen X, which is also more loyal to brands than the younger generations.
Perry has invested in sustainable brands including the popular vegan meat company Impossible Foods, and Apeel, a tech company aimed at solving the food waste problem with innovative coatings that can extend the life of fruits and vegetables.
For Perry, though, there’s something even more important than doing good—feeling good. They go hand-in-hand, really.
“My own style has evolved since 2008 in that, for me, I still want to have fun and humor is a big part of my personality, especially when I am in the public eye,” she said of the new shoe collection. “I like being able to be sophisticated and elevated, while still being playful. That’s really my vibe.”
in patterns like gingham and floral and materials like vegan leather, PVC and canvas. The collection will be available on the brand’s new website, as well as online at Nordstrom, Macy’s and Belk.
The Katy Perry Collection will be available on the brand’s website, as well as online at Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Belk.