Ronnie Fieg

Ronnie Fieg is a footwear and clothing designer from New York, and currently owns and operates retail establishment Kith.^[1]

Early life

Aaron 'Ronnie' Fieg^[2] was born and raised in Jamaica Queens, New York. Fieg began working as a stock boy and salesman for footwear chain David Z at the age of 13.^[3] He eventually became the assistant manager, manager and buyer for David Z.^[4][5]

Sneaker collaborations

After establishing himself as head buyer at David Z, Fieg began bringing in many of the athletic footwear brands for the chain of stores. One of these brands was Asics, who offered Fieg the opportunity to unarchive any of their old silhouettes. Fieg then designed three pairs of Gel Lyte IIIs called "The 252 Pack", due to each sneaker being produced in quantities of 252.^[6] Fieg's new sneaker designs ended up on the cover of The Wall Street Journal, thus causing each pair to sell out in 24 hours.^[7] This day was the catalyst for Fieg's career.

Fieg has gone on to collaborate with many other brands such as Adidas, Caminando, Chippewa, Clarks, Converse, Harris Tweed, Herschel Supply, New Balance, Polo Ralph Lauren, PUMA,^[8] Red Wings, Saucony, Sebago, Shades of Grey by Micah Cohen, and Timberland. His total number of collaborations is guessed at over 50 products, making him one of the most prolific sneaker designers/collaborators of all time.^[9]

KITH

On November 11, 2011, Ronnie Fieg opened up his own apparel and footwear boutique called Kith NYC. It currently has three locations; the first location opened was a Manhattan.^[10] flagship, then a Brooklyn flagship. In December 2015 the brand opened its first women's retail location in Manhattan. Kith carries brands including Yeezy, Stampd, Timberland, Adidas, Red Wing, Clarks, Asics, Danner, New Balance, Nike, Gourmet, and Native Footwear.^[11]

In August 2015, Fieg relaunched his Brooklyn store with a $2 million renovation. The new space featured a cereal bar that launched the Kith Treats business, 750 cast white Air Jordan 2s hanging from the ceiling and overall design by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen of the firm Snarkitecture.^[12] Kith Treats is Brooklyn's first cereal bar^[13] and boasts 23 types of cereal to mix with 25 assorted toppings and 5 different milks.^[14] Ice cream is available as well.

In July 2016, Kith opened a co-branded six month pop-up shop in collaboration with Nike^[15] featuring a custom Kith Treats bar. That bar offered cereal, ice cream as well as milkshakes. This space was adjacent to the brand's Manhattan flagship. As with every other Kith location, the venue was designed by Snarkitecture and as it is the fourth retail outlet, featured white cast air Jordan 4s in the design.

In September 2016, Kith debuted a 90-look collection at New York Fashion Week featuring collaborations with 25 other brands.^[16] At the show, Fieg confirmed that before the year's end he would open two more retail locations, one in Miami and one in Aspen. Collaborative brands included A Bathing Ape, Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Power Rangers and Rugrats.

Kith Treats

After launching smaller projects following the official Kith Treats debut in August 2015, Fieg expanded the business in October 2016. For the company's first cereal collaboration, Kith teamed up with Cap N Crunch on a cereal, pop up shops as well as an accessories and apparel line.^[17]

References