Payless ShoeSource Announces September 7 Availability at Payless Stores of First Isabel Toledo for Payless Collection; Mid August Launch at colette in Paris

TOPEKA, Kan., NEW YORK and PARIS, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Payless ShoeSource, dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories for all to enjoy, today announced the September 7 availability of the much-anticipated Isabel Toledo for Payless fall collection at select Payless stores across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, countries in the Middle East, and Russia and at Payless.com at prices ranging from $35 to $60.  Payless also announced today the exclusive availability of a focal style in the collection, the "High Ghillie," which is available now in limited-edition, exclusive colors at Paris boutique, colette, with additional styles available at the boutique later this month.

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Toledo, a global fashion icon, became an international household name last year for the "Lemongrass" Day Dress she designed for Michelle Obama to wear to her husband's inauguration.  She is an inventor of many signature looks and has been described as a "cult figure" by the New York Times, one of the "100 designers that count" by Women's Wear Daily and "an important raw talent" by Vogue.  Her designs have been sold in some of the most prestigious stores in the world such as Barneys New York, Nordstrom, Ikram in Chicago, colette, Shiseido Ginza in Tokyo and Liberty of London.  

"Isabel's first collection for Payless channels her unique design focus, melding fashion, art and invention through an amazing line up of wardrobe essentials that are graphically strong, chic, inventive, wearable and fun," said LuAnn Via, CEO of Payless.  "With its practical elegance aesthetic and international flavor, we expect this line to have broad appeal across the globe -- in our U.S. and many of our international Payless stores, and at colette, where the Payless designer label is first being launched."

Toledo is well-known for her fashion-forward, evolving design process rooted in the marriage of art, fashion and invention.  Her approach and dedication to designing clothing -- and now shoes -- that are timeless and free of trends make her an iconic and free-thinking talent.

Her first Payless collection includes a range of important essential silhouettes including tall boots and ankle booties, pumps, heeled wedges and flats done in fresh new ways and resulting in wearable chic shoes with a practical elegance.

"The main inspiration for my first Payless collection was to create a line of shoes that I could wear on a daily basis and that would make a bold fashion statement, but also be very functional too," said Toledo.  "I am a New Yorker and I walk all over the city and in the fall that means all sorts of bad weather.  These shoes have a strong graphical tone, are fresh new essentials for every woman's fall closet, and are an affordable way to make a strong statement from the ground up."

Two key styles in the line are the High Ghillie and a Ballet Flat Ghillie, both featuring a Ghillie upper with its half-circle cut-outs and loop lace design.  The High Ghillie features a faux patent upper with a contrasting all-yellow heeled wedge sole with a zig-zag ripple treatment -- a signature design element in Toledo's fall Payless footwear collection.  The Ballet Flat Ghillie comes in both a black and silver version featuring a ruched toe design and a skimmer sole and half-inch heel – also featuring the zig-zag ripple treatment.

"The Ghillie shoe is an important design originating from Scotland as a smart shoe for walking the wet and muddy countryside.  I love the Ghillie because it's  unique and practical.  My Ghillies explore the allure of high style at a comfortable price.  They complement the daring urban gladiator leg or a discreet workers' pant."

Through a unique alliance among Payless, Isabel Toledo and colette, the Paris-based boutique well known for its trend-setting retail position and unique artistic product displays, the High Ghillie style is available now at colette in limited-edition, exclusive colors all featuring the faux patent upper combined with the zig-zag heeled wedge soles done in yellow (the Payless version), blue, red and winter white.  A more complete Isabel Toledo for Payless collection is expected to be available at colette later in the month as well.  

This is the first time Payless has launched its designer labels first at another retailer.  The colette offering of the Isabel Toledo for Payless styles is featured in a unique installation in the store.

More Practical Elegance

The fall Isabel Toledo for Payless collection also includes:

The tall Poodle Belted Boot featuring a gunmetal distressed faux leather upper topped off by a full shaft of faux fur and a strap belted design with pyramid stud detailing.  The boot has a platform sole with the zig-zag ripple detail and about a three-and-one-half-inch heel.

The Front-Fold Bootie is an ankle boot featuring a black nylon upper with abstract-shaped faux patent detailing and a large front-fold design with a bungee-cord strap, making it adjustable for a snug fit to a range of foot widths.  The bootie has a heeled platform sole with a matte black finish and the zig-zag ripple detail.

The Sliver Bootie is also an ankle boot with a black elastic gore fabric upper featuring three cut-out sliver designs along both sides exposing inlaid pops of brightly colored striped fabric.  The Sliver style also has a patent-covered snipped toe detail with a full front hidden zipper, a substantial  straight three-inch heel and a platform sole with the zig-zag ripple detail.

The Toreador is a d'orsay style pump done in graphic black and red satin with a large bow detail at the toe and the zig-zag rippled platform sole.

The Pom Pom is a ballet flat that features a skimmer sole and one-half inch heel both featuring the zig-zag rippled treatment and a slightly crinkled patent upper punctuated with a Pom Pom tuft of faux fur at the toe.

The line also includes three coordinating bags: the Matadore tote, with a similar sliver design as the Sliver Bootie, the Companion satchel, a perfectly sized bag featuring patent and a large mesh overlay detail and the Silver Moon clutch with its distressed silver fabric and slight balloon bottom design.

About Isabel Toledo

Cuban born Isabel Toledo attended both The Fashion Institute of Technology  and Parsons School of Design in New York, but credits her real training to an internship with Diana Vreeland at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1998 Toledo and husband Ruben Toledo were the subject of the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology exhibit, "Toledo-Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion," which chronicled their seventeen  years of collaboration in design and art.  The exhibit has since traveled to Kent State University Museum in Ohio, The Museum at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and in part to The Kunts Haus Museum in Vienna, the Hayward Gallery in London and Parco Gallery on Tokyo.    

Isabel and Ruben Toledo were the recipients of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion in 2005.  In 2006 they were both awarded a Fashion Visionary Award by FGI, an organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt to promote design awareness in America.  Toledo has been named twice on the International Best Dressed List, and in 2008 received the 3^rd annual Couture Council Award for Artistry.  Her approach and dedication to designing clothing that is timeless and free of trends make her an iconic and free-thinking talent and one of the few independent designers still working out of New York City.

In 2009, a 25 year retrospective exhibition and catalog of her fashion designs was published by Yale University Press, and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology featured an exhibit, "Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out," a mid-career retrospective including 70 iconic pieces from the '80s to the present.

About Payless Designer Collections

Payless designer collections are among the most widely distributed designer footwear labels in America today and a key strategy for Payless in its mission to democratize fashion, design and the latest ideas in footwear and accessories for all to enjoy.  Additional Payless Guest Designers include Lela Rose, who has two labels: Lela Rose for Payless and a special occasion line, Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose; Christian Siriano with Christian Siriano for Payless.  Previous designers also included Laura Poretzky with the Abaete for Payless label and Stacey Bendet with alice + olivia for Payless.  Toledo is the first Latina designer for Payless.  

The Payless Designer Collections are seasonal lines of original footwear and handbags created by New York fashion designers and hot-off-the-runway.  This select group of fashion designers and stylists create designer footwear and accessory collections for Payless featuring the latest runway and red carpet styling details offered at value prices.  Each collection is unique and reflective of the designer's signature style.  

About Payless & Collective Brands, Inc.

Payless ShoeSource, Inc., a unit of Collective Brands, Inc., is the largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere and is dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories and inspiring fun, fashion possibilities for the family at a great value.  As of the end of first quarter 2010, the company operated nearly 4,500 stores.  In addition, customers can buy shoes over the Internet through Payless.com(R) at www.payless.com.

Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its more than 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk(R), Dexter(R), Champion(R), Zoe & Zac(TM), the first-ever affordable green footwear brand, and designer collections Lela Rose for Payless, Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose, Christian Siriano for Payless, Patricia Field for Payless and STPL x Airwalk, among others; Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle and performance branded footwear and high-quality children's footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including Stride Rite(R), Keds(R), Sperry Top-Sider(R), Robeez(R), and Saucony(R), among others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk(R), Vision Street Wear(R), Sims(R), Lamar(R) and LTD(R). Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand's units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.

SOURCE Payless ShoeSource