Bio
Michael Atmore
Michael Atmore is Editorial Director of Footwear News (FN) and Director of Brand Development for Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM). He oversees both FN and Footwearnews.com, which offer extensive coverage of footwear-industry trends, fashion designers, business executives and retailers, as well as reports and reviews of the major runway shows. He also supervises WWD Accessories, a title coproduced with Women’s Wear Daily (WWD).
As Director of Brand Development, Mr. Atmore focuses on the extension of FFM brands, with particular attention to television, trade shows and the development of new products and initiatives.
Additionally, under his direction, FFM hosts two industry events: the annual FN Achievement Awards, and the FN CEO Summit, a biennial executive conference that draws a diverse cross-section of top-level executives and industry professionals. In 2008, Mr. Atmore created the FN “Shoe Star†webisode series, a reality shoe-design competition for Fashion Institute of Technology students created to identify the next great footwear designer. In 2002, he helped launch WWD Accessories, a consumer and business-focused magazine geared to the luxury market.
Prior to joining Fairchild and Conde Nast in 1997, Mr. Atmore was founding Editorial Director and Publisher of Footwear Plus. He has an extensive background in retail, having served as Editorial Director for a group of retail-based publications at International Thomson. He has also held top editorial positions at U.S. Business Press and Harcourt Brace.
Stuart Weitzman
Stuart Weitzman learned the family business from his father Seymour Weitzman, who was the
designer of his own footwear company, Mr. Seymour. As an apprentice, the young Mr. Weitzman
learned every aspect of the business. It is because of this early training that he is one of the few
shoe designers who is also a skilled pattern maker.
Mr. Weitzman graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and, after
his father’s unexpected death, he and his older brother took over the Mr. Seymour business.
Mr. Seymour underwent several changes, including being sold to Caressa Inc, with production
moved to Spain. Mr. Weitzman remained President of the Mr. Seymour division, and the company
eventually and seamlessly became Stuart Weitzman Inc.
In 2005, Stuart Weitzman Inc. partnered with Irving Place Capital to become Stuart Weitzman
Holdings, LLC. This partnership poised the company for major international retail expansion. In
2010, Stuart Weitzman Holdings LLC sold a majority stake in the company to The Jones Group Inc.
For the past 35 years, the company has manufactured Stuart Weitzman footwear and handbags in
factories in Elda, Spain, and the surrounding regions. Mr. Weitzman has been recognized for the
impact of his efforts on the prestige of the Spanish footwear and handbag industry.
When not traveling to Spain to oversee production, Mr. Weitzman resides in Connecticut with his
wife, Jane. They are the parents of two adult daughters.
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Encyclopædia Britannica Article
- shoe
Outer covering for the foot, usually of leather, with a stiff or thick sole and heel, and generally reaching no higher than the ankle (unlike a boot). Early examples from Mesopotamia were moccasinlike wraparounds of leather; not until the Hellenistic Age did shoes become luxurious. The Romans developed shoes fitted for the left and right feet, and differentiated according to sex and rank. In the 14th–15th century, shoes became extremely long and pointed, the points attaining a length of 18 in. (45 cm) or more. In the 16th century, the toes became extremely broad, like a duck's bill. In the 17th century, shoes had moderately high heels and were often decorated with large rosettes of lace and ribbons, which gave way to gold or silver buckles in the 18th century. The first shoe factory opened in 1760, in Massachusetts, but not until the development of modern machinery in the 19th century were shoes made quickly and inexpensively.
- shoe on britannica.com
© 2010 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
