How Jon Buscemi Has Uniquely Positioned His Shoes in the Designer Shoe Scene

Starting in the fashion business is not always the easiest thing. Especially when it comes to new
names and faces that are making their debut. This particularly refers to fashion designers and their
beginnings. Sometimes the skill and the talent are just not enough to become an established fashion
designer. There are many different stories for the different beginnings in the fashion industry and
they pretty much state the difficult starts, succeeding on the market and keeping the brand afloat
despite many changes and the obstacles that fashion brings.

Footwear, as part of the fashion, comes with a highly competitive market. The demand and the
trends on the market require creating something unique and appealing that will make that particular
designer and brand stand out. It takes a lot of desire, research, and will, all of that combined to make
a mark and get spotted. And that is what Jon Buscemi exactly did.

While working at Wall Street, Jon Buscemi had a greater passion for sneakers rather than for his day
job. It did not make him happy and satisfied; he loved sneakers and enjoyed buying them. Having
lots of sneakers and doing research on what was lacking in the market, he saw that the sports
sneakers were lacking one very important factor and that was luxury. Although luxury and sports
might not go well together, Buscemi had the vision that it was time to create a shoe that will
combine these two things and then some. Being American with Italian roots, Buscemi had an eye for
what was fashionable and luxurious. The way to make this happen was to create his brand, a one
that will incorporate all his ideas into one. In 2005, together with Greg Johnsen and Greg Lucci,
Gourmet Footwear was launched and it was the perfect combination of casual and stylish. The first
collection was the starting point that would have determined whether the business will hold or not.
However, the turnout was quite good that in 2007, to complement the already existing collection,
the brand comes out with the shoe that was best describing the brand's vision. In addition to that
came a tribute collection to a famous basketball player and his footwear line. Since all the pieces
that involve sports players are mainly in a sporty style, Buscemi’s vision was to make the shoe more
causal that it is and target larger demographics. That proved to be the right move and the sales were
quite big. From then onwards, the production and design of his shoes were only becoming more
original and unique.

The brand continued to create and develop shoes, but the luxurious note remained the main idea
upon which the brand was founded. He wanted to create a shoe for a customer that is very
influenced by culture, fashion, trends, and adores everything new. But when it came to men's
sneakers, certain standards have to be maintained. Men still do not love stepping out of their
comfort zone, and with that, they love the classic lines of the sneakers. The trick was to keep all of
that but add that dose of fashionability and luxury that will put the shoe on an entirely new fashion
level and scale. Sophistication and elegance were present during the entire creative process, without
forgetting the timeless classic style. Quickly after that, Buscemi designed what he had always wanted
to – the piece that will later become a social status symbol.

In 2013, Buscemi did something unseen until then. His brand handcrafted eye-catching premium
leather sneakers that had 10k gold lock hardware. A pair of such sneakers cost from $1000 to even
$132000, depending on the quality of the fabrics and materials used in the development and
production of the particular pair. One special pair that maybe made him famous in the footwear
world was Buscemi’s signature luxurious 10MM sneaker. It was inspired by the Hermes Birkin Bag
and had its debut the same year. The sneakers were made of high-end leathers, 18K
embellishments, and a decorative lock that resembled the look of the famous Birkin bag closure. The
distinct look and design of the sneaker, made the customers coming back for more – to a brand that
did no advertising and that did not have a unified logo. That was the moment when Buscemi realized
that as soon as he made designing elegant, luxurious, tasteful, and one-of-a-kind styles that have not
been seen before, they would sell, no matter the price.

And so the perception of the sneaker changed and it was not considered only as an item for the
court. It was a luxury piece that men wore every day out there. What Buscemi explained many times
was that his path was long. Getting where he is today was something that he has been working for
15 years. That mainly had a lot to do with the readiness of the market that included it being open to
selling high-end and high-priced items such as luxury sports sneakers. He explained that the luxury
fashion world was always present, but for this type of sneaker to achieve popularity and the impact
in the luxury foot department, the regular man back then was not entirely ready and capable to
enjoy it and afford it.

Today, Buscemi's shoes rate high up on the footwear fashion ladder, right next to the biggest sports
brands collaborations with the luxury fashion houses.