The Jacques Levine brand has consistently produced comfortable and elegant women’s footwear since 1936 and has now welcomed its fourth generation into the company business. Sam Calvanio, Jacques Levine’s grandson, recently joined the company after the untimely death of his Uncle Harry Levine and is planning a significant revitalization to the brand while still honoring the company’s traditional roots.
And Sam has quite a mentor! His 88-year-old grandfather, Jacques, shown here as a lad in his army uniform, has done just about everything there is to do in the shoe industry. At the young age of 14 he was cutting materials for his father, Falk Levine, in his Middletown factory. From there he went on to produce dancing shoes for A Chorus Line on Broadway and to design a slipper collection for Christian Dior.
And now this Grandfather and Grandson duo is working side-by-side and boy, have they been busy! They’ve already re-launched the company’s e-commerce site, they’re working on a new collection for 2011 and Sam has even persuaded his grandfather to start blogging!
Somehow, somewhere in his hectic schedule, Sam found the time to talk with Zuburbia about vintage shoes, his company’s long history in the shoe trade and how a commitment to quality creates the most sustainable shoe.
A few months ago, you joined the Jacques Levine company and you are now working side-by-side with your 88-year-old grandfather. What prompted your decision to join the family business now and what’s it like working with him?
I think over the years slippers became really boring and cozy. I don’t think anyone has too strong a preference for slippers and I wanted to see if I could bring back the notion of elegance in home footwear. Also, having always admired my grandfather’s charisma, sense of style, and ability to run a family business, I felt a strong drive to see if I could continue his legacy.
I enjoy working with him a lot. He knows so much about footwear construction, and traveled the entire country selling his slippers and shoes. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the local shoe stores that he visited over the years. I really enjoy drawing from his experience.
You and your grandfather are hard at work on a new line of slippers and flats for 2011. What can you tell us about what’s in store for this 4th Generation Collection and when and where will we be able to find it?
We just finished designing the slipper collection and will have those ready by August of 2011. We worked with a great up-and-coming designer who helped us draw from our archives to reinterpret the notion of slippers for the next generation of customers. We have sold our slippers in Neiman Marcus and other independent lingerie boutiques for decades, and once our new collection is finalized, I’m hopeful our existing clients will sell them.
In 2008, the Jacques Levine Blaze Mule was named one of the 50 Most Iconic Shoes by Footwear News. What was it about that particular style that you think resonated with women and the fashion community?
The clothing that Marilyn Monroe is wearing in an image that I posted on Vintage Jacques epitomizes the image of a seductive outfit that everyone has in their mind. The Marabou Mule is such a key element of the sexuality behind that outfit. Even today, if you go into a high-end lingerie store like Agent Provocateur their employees wear high-heeled mules. I think in some ways the recognition that the Blaze has received is more an appreciation of the role it plays in a classical seductive outfit.
Your Middletown factory used to produce a “Schiaparelli Collection” with designs by Elsa Schiaparelli that were sent to you from Paris. Are there any “dream” fashion designers who you or your grandfather would welcome working with today?
I think if you asked my grandfather, he would say that Schiaparelli’s designs are still relevant today and that his dream would be to re-launch a line of her old designs.
I’m personally daydreaming about a current collaboration that I am working on with a vintage-inspired lingerie line that should be launching in the summer of next year. To me it’s more relevant for our brand than collaborating with a modern designer of Schiaparelli’s caliber. The brand draws on bedroom glamour from the 40s and 50s and we are hoping to reproduce slipper styles from that period that complement their lingerie designs.
Your have helped your grandfather set up a delightful blog, Vintage Jacques, where he shares his musings on slippers, shoes and style, and where you plan to weigh in occasionally as well. How has blogging and e-commerce changed your business?
I think with almost any name that’s been in the market for decades, it’s easy to assume that the person behind the name is either fictitious or is no longer alive. I personally love being able to share my grandfather’s voice with the people who love his slippers. Also, with shoe manufacturing having left the U.S. over the last few decades, I think it’s important that we document the experience of American shoemakers and I think my Grandfather’s blog posts are part of that. In the spirit of total transparency, my Grandfather does not actually produce the blog posts. He handwrites them and I post them to the web with as little editorial adjustment as possible. I knew he was starting to enjoy blogging when he started writing about himself in the third person.
Is there a favorite anecdote, “shoe story” or adventure with the company that you can share?
When I was a Freshman in College I helped my Grandparents at the WSA shoe show in Las Vegas and the Blaze had just been featured on Sex in the City. A fashion editor from YM wanted to use it for a photo shoot, but my Grandfather had never heard of the magazine and he didn’t want to give her a pair for free. I overhead their exchange and pulled him aside and told him that while YM may not be a leading fashion magazine, that it was still very big (at the time) with teenage girls. We agreed that if she didn’t return the shoes after the photo shoot that I would pay for the shoes myself. I have the picture from the magazine in my office and the editor did return the shoes.
Any current or future plans to help “green” the shoe industry?
I think the biggest issue in terms of environmental responsibility facing the shoe industry is not related to the manufacturing process in particular. I think Fast Fashion reduces the quality of footwear, and encourages a throw-away culture that produces a lot of waste. I think the most sustainable shoe is the shoe that’s already been made and that if we focus on making a better quality product that there will be fewer broken heels filling our landfills.
So true! So true!
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(All Photos Used With Permission from The Jacques Levine Company)
