Ditching Your Office Attire? Start With Your Shoes

There is a shoe store in the old industrial neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He got to talking with the owner of the store like a Polish immigrant because of his love for fashion. There was a mentorship after that. Malczewski worked for Wilczewski for 12 years, absorbing everything he could about running a small business. Malczewski set up in Chicago and founded a men's footwear brand named after his mentor and his baby son. He was the only one working for him.

Malczewski lets his gut tell him what to do. Before the Pandemic hit, he had already eliminated most of his dress shoes in favor of footwear with flexible soles, and he bet that homebound consumers would prefer dressy sneakers. Malczewski's intuition couldn't prepare him for the success of the boot, which he says was inspired by the Air Jordan 11s. September 2020 is when it first appeared. He says the design has enough eye candy to make it interesting but not overwhelming.

The feedback was used to improve the quality of the boot.

After the members of the R&B group New Edition wore the Aiden during their performance at the American Music Awards, it became impossible for Malczewski to keep up with the demand. Sales of the boot jumped from 614 pairs a month to 1,032, and Malcewski was on the phone with his manufacturers in China every night.

He said that the performance added fuel to the fire. Revenue for the nine-person company was $5.1 million because of the boot. It's called the payoff for a shoe design.