Ronnie Fieg, who turned KITH into an empire in the streetswear village

For those who are fans of Ronnie Fieg, KITH and the success he has built up

Ronnie Fieg is a talented designer with numerous versions of the collaboration sneaker collaboration Nikeadidas, Reebok and especially Asics have a simple childhood like any child. He grew up in Queens, a relatively secluded city with little exposure to fashion or streetwear. Ronnie Fieg’s sister was the only person at that time to share his fashion knowledge with Ronnie, through T-shirts Tommy, Nautica or designs of 6-inch Timberland. And with passionate passion at that time, Ronnie applied to work for David Z. His first idol and also the owner of the famous retail chain NYCSOLE at that time. It was David who was the inspiration and driving force for KITH’s future launch.

Since he was only 13 years old, Ronnie Fieg used to visit NYCSOLE stores, see the way David arranged products, choose music and create spaces for customers to interact with each other. It’s really different from what’s in Queens. This is also the reason why he does not hesitate to apply for a job here.

Of course the job is not easy at all. He often has to travel long distances by subway from Queens to NYC, doing manual work in the warehouse, cleaning, arranging products … Despite the hard work, Ronnie Fieg actually learned a lot about products and how to set-up a retail store during this period.

Ronnie Fieg becomes a 15-year-old guy working on 8th Street (the most busy neighborhood in NYC); meeting celebrities, chatting and getting to know the most famous faces at that time such as Diddy, Jay-Z, Missy Eliott. It is still the time when influencer marketing has not appeared, so people come to the store and choose to buy products that they are really interested in. This helps Ronnie better understand style, know what celebrities want, need and what will impress them.

Ronnie Fieg’s first achievement is, of course, collabs with Asics, more precisely with the Onitsuka Tiger. That was when David asked Ronnie to open an account at Asics to start a business between NYCSOLE and Asics, and Ronnie Fieg got the chance for a first collab collection with Asics. Of course, he did his best to design and promote the products, and make the business more fluid. From here, he was extremely favored by Asics, as well as being noticed by Complex.

However, this makes David Z and Ronnie contradict each other. David himself is a classic who also wears leather shoes, and it is difficult to accept the trend of sneakers that is becoming more popular. Ronnie really struggled in the first batch with Asics, having to sell 756 pairs of Onitsuka Tiger in NYCSOLE.

This narrative is a risky quest for Ronnie, especially as the first 3 days have passed and only 5 pairs have been sold. However, thanks to his relationship, Ronnie made the product appear in the Wall Street Journals magazine, and two weeks later all 756 pairs of shoes were sold out.

After years of gaining experience, and as he was ready for new challenges, Ronnie began to embark on collaboration projects, especially with Asics. At that time, few people could understand the value of Ronnie’s KITH-branded products, a pair of shoes that bore the personality of both the brand and the designer.

However, thanks to his perseverance and talent, both Ronnie Fieg and his KITH brand gradually gained recognition, starting with an appearance on Complex, talk shows … A special reason why Ronnie still uses his name to attach to collabs other than KITH because of his habit since working for David Z. Ronnie shared that he wants people to know what products are being sold. in NYCSOLE or anywhere, as long as Ronnie Fieg’s name is very special and really brings his soul, style.

And when Ronnie is brave enough, and he realizes the need to connect idol teams like him, share the same interests and passions, it’s time to introduce KITH to the community. Also from that, Ronnie like “fish meet water”. He is free and comfortable to imagine, compose and build a personal brand as well as build KITH. The extremely successful launch of two RF x Asics Gel-lyte III “Salmon Toe” and “Leather Black” color schemes at KITH has helped make the store’s name rise like a breeze.

Since then, both Ronnie and KITH began to see certain successes, such as projects with Foot Action, Nike and Reebok.

At the same time, perhaps what made Ronnie successful is his consistency as well as his attitude to do great. Ronnie has repeatedly refused to cooperate with retailer stores due to the limited requirements they give, like the job and former old man David Z at NYCSOLE gave Ronnie.

(There’s more)

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