Entrepreneur Ruthie Davis MBA’93 Receives 2016 FashInvest NYC Fashpreneur™ Award
Ruthie Davis MBA’93 has received the 2016 FashInvest NYC Fashpreneur™ Award, which is presented to an entrepreneur in the fashion, branded goods, apparel and fashion technology sectors that exemplifies a passion towards seeing early stage, high growth entrepreneurial opportunities succeed and flourish. This individual has clearly impacted the fashion community through their innovation and vision by establishing a company that wins in today’s competitive environment, according to FashInvest.
Ruthie Davis MBA’93
Founder and CEO, Ruthie Davis
By taking risks and covering new ground, Ruthie Davis has rewritten the rules governing footwear. Always cognizant of the design and marketing nexus, Ruthie crafts her signature cutting edge vision for minimalistic, sexy and functional design to meet the desires of her customer. Known as the people’s shoe designer, Davis fuses luxury with youthful sensuality to create shoes that are avant-garde yet wearable, feminine but unfussy, modern but never cold. Residing in New York City and President of her eponymous brand, Ruthie has the advantage of being a woman who designs for women.
Ruthie earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College. She went on to earn her MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson’s Olin Graduate School of Business, with the intention of someday forging an independent fashion label of her own. Ruthie then honed her design and marketing skills by holding executive positions at Reebok, UGG Australia and Tommy Hilfiger before launching RUTHIE DAVIS in 2006.
Renowned for their architectural shapes, Ruthie Davis shoes are a luxurious mix of materials, uncompromising quality and vivid color palette. The RUTHIE DAVIS brand is sold in top tier retail establishments worldwide. Complementing her global ecommerce store launched in 2014 (ruthiedavis.com), Ruthie plans to open the first Flagship Ruthie Davis store in New York City in 2017.
RUTHIE DAVIS has been the ever growing top choice of a panoply of celebrities since the inception of the brand, ranging from A-listers like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Halle Berry, So a Vergara and Kim Kardashian West; supermodels Joan Smalls, Naomi Campbell and Kendall Jenner; and young Hollywood stars like Selena Gomez, Skai Jackson, Emma Roberts and Demi Lovato. Her designs have been featured in New York & London Fashion Week runway presentations by Duckie Brown, Alice + Olivia, Dennis Basso, Doo Ri and David Meister among others. Recently, Ruthie collaborated with menswear designer and animal activist John Bartlett on the launch of her first vegan shoe line, which was nominated for the WGSN Global Fashion Collaboration Award of 2015. Currently, Davis is launching a number of brand collaborations with Universal Studios, Disney, HSN and her first apparel collection with Designow. She also designs custom shoes for Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Zendaya.
Named “Fashion Footwear Designer of the Year” by Acquisitions International in 2016, Davis also received Babson’s “Entrepreneur Hall of Fame” award in 2015. In 2014, Ruthie was the only footwear designer to be accepted into the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America). Additionally, Ruthie was named the 2014 “Footwear Designer of the Year” by AAFA (American Apparel & Footwear Association) at their annual American Image Awards. In 2013, Ruthie was distinguished as one of Goldman Sachs’ “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs,” one of Footwear News’ “20 Directional Design Stars” in 2013 and 2014, and in 2012 as one of Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Talents.” Ruthie serves as a television fashion expert with regular spots on Bravo, E!, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox News, CBS News, Yahoo Finance and NBC among others. She consistently dedicates time to mentoring emerging designers and entrepreneurs. Whether it be teaching a course at FIT, or lecturing at MIT’s Sloan School of Business, her message is always clear, “Find your passion, work hard, live your dreams.”