shoes

Koolaburra debuts their Spring/Summer 2013 collection with a landmark 30 new styles that break free of the Grade-A Australian sheepskin lining that has been a signature element of the fashion footwear company. The collection is their largest warm weather offering to date. With the advent of the 2013 buying season, the Santa Barbara based enterprise has opened several mono-brand stores (Hong Kong and soon-to-open Tokyo) along with select high-caliber retailers across globe. Building a year-round offering has been an exciting challenge for the fashion footwear company, most renowned for its winter sheepskin boot collections. “The central theme behind Koolaburra Spring/Summer 2013 is ‘Boho-Sleek’-- where mid-century design and attitude meets today’s trends,” reveals Creative Director Kris Zacharias. “I re-engineered our best selling Veleta 5” platform wedge into strappy sandals with a nod to the current athletic trends and caged uppers in lattice cut leathers in fun colors. I took our successful flat sandals up a notch with architecturally inspired treatments like folded leather and shaped uppers in bold color combinations, and updated our wooden clog with a new art-deco inspired heel shape.” “We broke three new constructions for the season: I’m most excited by our platform sneaker collection,” continues Zacharias. “The competition is fierce in this new category and I wanted to differentiate Koolaburra by crafting in fine Italian leathers, statement making embellishments like studs and western inspired leather appliques while keeping the silhouette sleek and flattering on the foot. We also developed a cork 3” platform range, which is new for S/S13, with structured leather uppers in color-blocked combinations. The last construction is our Wildcat group, a 2” stacked leather heel with a bold metal insert and athletic inspired leather uppers. The response from retailers has been fantastic and once again we are a brand to watch this season.” About Koolaburra: Koolaburra is a privately held premium footwear manufacturer based in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded twenty years ago—long before the height of the sheepskin boot craze. The firm currently makes sheepskin footwear across the premium and luxury price point and is known for chic, irreverent and innovative styles that are unique and individual for each wearer. For more information please visit: www.koolaburra.com.