This week, the California cool label released its first fall line of footwear, including combat boots, lug-soled loafers, knee-high silhouettes, neoprene, square-toe ankle boots and western-inspired mid-shaft styles.
Made to complement the brand’s seen-everywhere apparel—from printed peasant dresses to high-waisted denim—the shoes come in a range of warm beiges and browns, army green, black and snow white.
The line is punctuated by an array of animal prints created with repurposed deadstock materials, and includes new inputs like traceable stretch leather and suede.
The drop proceeds the launch of Ref Shoes 2.0 this spring, which gave new life to the brand’s shoe offering using an array of recycled and bio-based components and 75 percent less virgin plastic than Reformation’s first footwear offering in 2019.
Melville is confident that consumers will love the eight new styles, which range in price from $248-$398, as well as additional silhouettes slated to drop throughout the fall.
“We’ve seen a clear appetite for fashion-forward styles across categories—whether that be our trend-driven activewear, our novelty printed denim, or our spring shoes lineup, as consumers are excited to shop and get dressed up again,” she said.
The trans-seasonal boot styles are versatile enough to be worn throughout the year, she said, lending appeal for shoppers who have become shrewder about splurging during the pandemic.
“There’s always a learning curve when launching—or relaunching—a new category, and it took some fine tuning to get these right from a quality and sustainability perspective,” Melville added.
Reformation sources its leather hides and produces its footwear in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil—the country’s southernmost state—and has developed product and material traceability down to the farm level.
“For our launch of Ref Shoes 2.0 in the spring of 2021, we rehauled our supply chain and found new supply partners that upheld our core values and sustainability standards,” Melville said.
The company works “exclusively” with Leather Working Group Gold and Silver rated tanneries certified in best-in-class water, energy, and chemical management practices.
“We are thrilled to be working with partners in Brazil who take sustainability as seriously as we do,” Melville said. Those partners “are willing to experiment and innovate with us to continue to push the industry forward.”