On Dec. 3, Ronnie Fieg will be honored with the Person of the Year award at the 39th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 1 print issue about the Kith founder’s banner year.
Ronnie Fieg knows no limits.
In 2025, the Kith founder, chief executive officer and creative director topped himself again and again — turning every collaboration, store opening and runway show into a fresher, bolder expression of his singular vision.
“He built up a whole world starting from a simple idea, creating a community, a family,” said Michele Tacchella, deputy managing director, global chief brands and chief commercial officer for Giorgio Armani, who partnered with Kith on a wide-ranging collaboration and calls Fieg a visionary. “This family nourishes and inspires every activity. I am proud to be part of it. I also learned from Ronnie to see things from a different point of view.”
Out-of-the-box thinking is a Fieg trademark. Just look at his new hospitality venture, Kith Ivy, which opened in late November at the intersection of the West Village and SoHo. The concept centers around the still-emerging sport of padel, and brings together a group of eclectic brands no one else would dream of putting together in one space.
A short walk away, Kith’s reopened NoHo flagship, which consistently has lines around the block, served as the backdrop for the brand’s August runway show dubbed “Institution” — its first in six years. The spectacle, held in front of the store on Lafayette Street, brought together rappers, athletes and actors, and featured collaborations with Clarks, Adidas, Birkenstock and more.
A few months later, Fieg helped pack Madison Square Garden for another must-attend event, Kith Night, a collaborative event between Kith, Fieg’s beloved New York Knicks and Delta.
Additionally, his growing retail chain added more high-profile doors to its roster this year. A flagship in Osaka, Japan, debuted in March, followed by Chicago in October. And last month, it had a grand unveiling in London.
Kith opened a London flagship in late November.
Courtesy of Kith
On the product front, Fieg recently launched two high-profile sneaker collaborations. The first was released on Nov. 14: a six-sneaker Marvel vs. Capcom collection with Asics, pitting iconic video game characters head-to-head.
The second includes kids’-exclusive Air Force 1s and Air Max 95s and marks Kith’s first work with Nike since 2021.
Colin Brickley, Asics Sportstyle sales director said the brand’s longtime partnership with Fieg is rooted in trust and shared values. “Watching him evolve has been a privilege,” Brickley said. “He has gone from being a visionary with passion to a visionary with precision. Each chapter he writes elevates not only our collaborations, but culture.”
Cal Dowers, Nike’s vice president and general manager of Los Angeles, echoed that sentiment, calling Fieg an inspiration. “His continued rise shows the next generation that when your passion for this industry and its consumers is genuine and deeply rooted, meaningful success will inevitably follow,” Dowers said.
Here, Fieg reflects on his biggest highlights in a busy and impactful year.
You’re continually topping yourself year after year. How do you keep up with that pace?
“It’s been hard, but I have an incredible team, and I think that the team is what makes it possible. But [there’s] a lot of sacrifice, not only on my side but also my team’s side, to get all these things done, to get all these projects to the finish line. So I gotta give a lot of credit to my team.”
In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about retail slowing down. Kith has been able to defy that trend. What would you attribute that to?
“Our care and our investment in giving back to the consumer by building these incredible homes for people to shop at. The spaces have become places that people plan their day around. They go with their family or just to chop it up with one of the employees, to pick up a book — or even just to eat some ice cream at Kith Treats or, in some of the spaces, eat some Sadelle’s. I think that our attention to the consumer experience has led people to feel like it’s an extension of their homes when they shop with us.”
The “Institution” runway show this summer in New York felt like a huge milestone for you. What was your takeaway from it all?
“It was a big emotional roller coaster, actually, because it almost didn’t happen because of the weather. We haven’t had a show in a long time, so [this presentation] was able to showcase the progression of the product. For people to see multiple collections styled together showed the highs and lows of how we dress and how we feel our consumer could dress. It gave people an indication as to how we approach styling, which I thought was important. Overall, it was one of the better shows that we’ve had and such an incredible moment to celebrate the rebuild of what we consider to be our institution, which is our global flagship store.”
A look from the Kith “Institution” runway show in New York, in August 2025.
CONCORDIA
The Kith Ivy announcement was another huge and ambitious move. How did you break boundaries with this project?
“A membership club, where we can cater to our members a bit differently and have more time [to do that], gives us the ability to create a new world. Padel being the anchor of that — and being able also to shape a new sport — was very important for me because I feel like the identity is kind of lost in the sport in the U.S. Even though it’s new and it’s come over [from Europe], it’s come in pieces. The idea for me was to create a solid identity for what padel can look and feel like when people play the sport. The space is unlike anything anybody has ever done, which excites me. Bringing Erewhon, Giorgio Armani, Wilson and Mogador together in one space is just basically all things that I love, together in one experience. I’m excited to see it open very soon and become part of what we have to offer as a brand.”
Kith collaborates with an impressive variety of brands all at the same time. How have you worked out these projects that give you so much freedom?
“Being 30 years in footwear has created some great relationships between me and the brands. Every brand that I work with, I have a different affinity for, and I try to create language that speaks to their DNA and puts their DNA on a pedestal — but through the lens of Kith, which has become a very interesting formula over time, needing to differentiate through product, just because of the sheer nature of the market we’re in with the amount of product that’s out there. Consistency with the partners has been key, and the anticipation for great product has been there and it has continued to grow.”
You had several standout footwear collections this year. With the 8th Street Wallabee, you brought together Clarks and Adidas again — and for the first time put Adidas tooling on the Wallabee.
“That was definitely one of my favorite projects, if not my favorite all-time footwear project of my career. [We had] two of the things I love most, coming together and creating something that’s never been seen before, but that’s still very familiar to people. It serves a different purpose for comfort and the ability to wear the product in a more universal way. Because crepe is a very specific kind of sole compound that you can wear, but when you put the Wallabee on either an Ultraboost tooling or a 4D tooling, it makes it a lot more wearable on a day-to-day basis. I felt like that silhouette in the Wallabee really needed that, at least from my point of view. I’m very happy with where things landed there and how things turned out.”
Ronnie Fieg created the Adidas Clarks Wallabee this year.
Courtesy of Kith
The Black Tie 2.0 Adidas Superstars were also a highlight. What was the inspiration behind those?
“That speaks to the first Adidas collaboration that I worked on. Being able to make the shoes in Germany was just a greatly executed project by the Adidas team in getting it to where it needed to be in terms of shape and execution on the leather, and how it came together as a dress shoe. We went through a bunch of different sample rounds to get it right, but it really does perform as a dress shoe. For people looking for or trying to solve for their footwear and wearing a black suit, that’s the perfect go-to. The fact that it was made in Germany makes it coveted and really collectible. That’s what I was looking for in celebrating the anniversary of that shoe.”
Some of your industry friends and peers are also flourishing. What are your thoughts on the rise of people like Aimé Leon Dore founder Teddy Santis and Nigel Sylvester?
“I’m very proud of Teddy for what he built over there. It’s an incredible American brand. I think it’s a legacy brand. He’s going to be here for a long time. Nigel’s on a tear. Fellow Queens native. His rise, I think, has been long overdue, to be honest. People need to pay very close attention to that kid. He has great taste, amazing charisma and is an amazing overall person. His contribution to footwear from the moment he started until today has been incredible. I think that it’s only the beginning.”
What advice would you give a young person working in a stockroom with ambitions of starting a brand?
“To keep going and to not look back. You know, I consider myself one of the more unlikely scenarios, just growing up where I grew up. And I know how far passion can take you. So I would tell that person to remain as passionate as possible and that anything is possible.”
Next year, you’re hitting a big milestone. What does turning 15 mean to you?
“Turning 15 is one of those moments that makes you stop and really take it in. Fifteen years means evolution. It means growth, consistency and constantly refining. You don’t get here alone. It’s a testament to the team, the partnerships and the people who believed in the vision from the beginning. Seeing how the brand has matured — and how the community has matured with it — is something I don’t take lightly.”
For 39 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2025 event is supported by Caleres, Listrak, Nordstrom, Skechers, Vibram and Wolverine Worldwide.
