Ce Ce was recently asked by Footwear Plus about her thoughts on the footwear industry and women in footwear.

See excerpt below:

“At a recent press preview, designer Ce Ce Chin of 80%20 voiced a mild beef with the industry: There are so few female leaders in the footwear industry, she mused—and that’s a pretty astonishing fact given the number of women in fashion overall. A resilient businesswoman who has built up her own brand from scratch, Chin said she’d love to see more women leave impressions as lasting as men like Kenneth Cole or Steve Madden.”

The Two Ten Footwear Foundation had the same sentiments and we were excited to learn about their recently launched national program Women In the Footwear Industry (WIFI) to elevate woman in footwear.  The mission of the initiative is to “inspire, support, mentor and educate women in footwear.”  After several meetings in Boston with women in footwear in 2008, a planning group was formed in New York to outline the program.

The foundation is co-chaired by Carol Baiocchi, Chair of the Two Ten Board of Directors and VP-DMM of Kohl’s Department Stores, and Diane Sullivan, President & COO of Brown Shoe Company.

To learn more about the program, read the full article at Footwear Plus.