Fashion Blogs

More than any other industry, fashion is dependent on celebrities, models and movie stars being seen wearing the brand, and the first thing fashion writers and celebrity bloggers note in their columns is – what was that celebrity wearing? From Melania Trump’s hot pink dress, to Selena Gomez’s casual outfits from Fashion Week, to Gigi Hadid’s everything – because let’s face it, Gigi Hadid could wear a black Hefty bag and still look good – fashion brands depend on celebrities to be their best brand ambassadors.

Established brands have an easy time of it. Celebrities carry Fendi handbags, wear Cartier jewelry, Hermes scarves, and Versace dresses. They wear Chanel perfume. But sometimes, a fashion newcomer gets into the act.

Launching last year with a celebrity-studded Hollywood launch party, WORLDboots has already gained the attention of many of the same celebrities that more established brands struggle to get on board. The footwear brand, which combines health and comfort with stylish design, was launched by entrepreneur and Hollywood insider Mark Bruder, and designer and orthotic specialist Ben Zerbe.

Much of the brand’s phenomenal growth has been purely organic, said Ash Sobhe, CEO of R6S, the Southern California public relations agency representing the brand. “We haven’t been aggressively marketing this at all,” said Sobhe. “The reason we’ve had so much traction is word of mouth. Ben wasn’t even ready to release it for sales, and it just leaked out and people got interested in it. It’s been very much on-the-ground, with people just seeing the shoes and loving them.”

Some of those people have been high-profile celebrities. And while celebrity endorsements typically cost more than a new brand could afford, the response has been purely organic, with A-listers like Samuel L. Jackson loving the shoes and giving the brand a shout-out on his social media. Of course, the support WORLDboots gives to Soles for Souls, an organization which creates sustainable jobs and provides relief through distribution of shoes and clothing throughout the world, makes the brand all the more attractive to celebrities like Jackson.

New fashion brands often spend years attempting to get the kind of attention WORLDboots received from day one. In what Sobhe describes as an “organic influencer campaign,” the company’s intent is to use its early visibility not only to get the word out, but to get valuable feedback on the high-end shoes so that they can continually improve them. “We never actually asked them to promote it,” said Sobhe. “They just loved the brand so much, they took pictures of it themselves, and decided to share it.”

WORLDboots’ organic influencer campaign began with the launch party, an over-the-top event attended by some of Hollywood’s biggest A-listers. Even for an insider like Bruder, the response was a surprise, and according to Sobhe, all it took was a few casual invitations, and a glance or two at what this innovative brand looks like, and word of the event quickly got around. “One celebrity finds out about it, and says, ‘I want to be there!’ Then just because they want to be there, they are going to bring other people in. It’s the quality of the product that is pulling a lot of those people in, and then they bring their friends, because they want to show it off.”

James Paxton, Matt Murray, and Tyler Young from "Eyewitness" mug for the camera at WORLDboots' launch party

Partly due to the celebrity connection, but partly due to the simple fact that the shoes are comfortable and attractive, WORLDboots has been selling out of its limited editions quickly, and Sobhe says that those who love the shoes, really love them, and have been placing multiple re-orders.

While we may look for more celebrity-packed parties in the future along with a more aggressive marketing campaign, for now, the brand’s growth has been 100 percent organic. It’s an unusual success story to which all other emerging fashion brands aspire.