Earlier this year, DSW parent company Designer Brands Inc. and Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC) cut the ribbon to their new JEMS by Pensole factory in Somersworth, N.H., the first Black-owned footwear factory in the United States. Now, both entities are revealing the first footwear product to come from this joint venture.
The shoe, dubbed the First JEM, is inspired by the story of Jan Ernst Matzeliger, the Black footwear leader who changed footwear manufacturing with his 1883 patent for the lasting machine. (The new factory, JEMS, also takes its name from this industry trailblazer.) Designed by legendary footwear designer and president of PLC Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, this unisex shoe pays tribute to Matzeliger’s impact on the industry and features a lasting machine on the sock liner and a diamond symbolizing the “gem” of this footwear legend. The shoe also launches on Matzeliger’s birthday, Sept. 15.
“The beauty of sneakers is it allows you to tell so many great stories,” Edwards said in an interview with FN. “And being able to tell a story that has such meaning and impact on our industry was the most fun part of the equation.”
Describing the shoe as an “athletic lifestyle sneaker,” Edwards said the target consumer is more of a “sneaker connoisseur,” someone who appreciates design and isn’t afraid to wear something different. A limited collection of 915 pairs is available for sale exclusively at DSW.com for $199.96 each. Throughout the fall, DSW will distribute more pairs in several of its stores across strategic markets and will also launch new colorways.
Designer Brands Inc. in February 2022 announced a $2 million investment to support the creation of the JEMS factory. Though this partnership, DSW became the exclusive distributer of products created in the factory. To make subsequent shoes, Edwards will tap designers of color from Pensole — the first HBCU with a focus on design — and the school’s broad network of diverse talent.
“We did this to change the footwear industry and to get more Black footwear designers designing footwear,” said Bill Jordan, president of Designer Brands who is stepping down from his role in December.
As Jordan explained, this partnership, first and foremost, is meant to encourage diverse talent in the industry. But the new program also gives DSW a new pipeline for exclusive product, in tandem with a stated goal of the company.
But less than a year into its life, the new factory has not been without its challenges.
“There’s a reason why shoes aren’t made in the United States,” Edwards said, referencing the struggle of finding skilled and knowledgeable workers in the country. “It is not easy.”
But having the factory stateside has also helped the design team work out problems and pivot toward solutions in real time.
“The speed to market is a huge thing,” Jordan said. “You can have an idea, you can produce shoes quickly and you can test that. And that’s fantastic.”
Eventually, Edwards hopes that the new factory will help empower up-and-coming designers to see the entire production of their designs through until the end.
“Being able to expand the factory’s capabilities is part of the vision and the goal. We just have to do it in stages,” Edwards said. “That first stage is to solidify the branding of the factory so people can know what to expect from product when it comes out. Then we start to introduce new talent to the marketplace who people don’t know about, but they have the credibility of JEMS and what we’ve been able to do in our partnership with DSW.”
