Australian Footwear Brand Opens First US Store

Australian shoe brand Bared Footwear (Sydney) has opened its inaugural U.S. store, in New York’s SoHo, Footwear News reports. The store is at 152 Spring St., in a space formerly occupied by another Australian shoe brand – R.M. Williams.

The opening marks the brand’s inaugural brick-and-mortar location outside of Australia – a major milestone in the brand’s growth trajectory as it seeks to expand its global retail footprint, Anna Baird, founder and owner, told Footwear News.

“After 16 years [in business], we do have a large audience in Australia,” Baird said. “So, it’s definitely like starting again. I feel like I’ve gone back in time, as we stake our claim in a brand-new market.”

Baird, a podiatrist-turned-entrepreneur, started Bared Footwear in 2008 with the focus on designing shoes that look good and feel good. Offering men’s and women’s styles, each shoe features a biomechanical footbed and hidden support elements.

Designed by Ryann Swan Design (New York) and built by Turnkey & Bespoke (Pasadena, Calif.), the new SoHo space is intended to feel welcoming through the use of natural and textural materials, as well as lush greenery, FN reports.

In its home country, the brand has six stores: four in Melbourne and one apiece in Sydney and Brisbane.