Minnetonka and Madewell debut footwear line featuring Anishinaabe design
Artist Adrienne Benjamin designed a suede bootie as the brands pair the release with support for language education
Family-owned shoemaker Minnetonka and J.Crew-owned Madewell have launched a three-style shoe collaboration, according to reporting from Inc. Magazine. The collection includes a fringed moccasin, a driving shoe and an Adrienne Benjamin-designed suede bootie.
Benjamin, an Anishinaabe fiber artist and community activist who serves as Minnetonka’s reconciliation consultant, designed the bootie, called the “baashkinjibigwan,” or “a flower bursting outward,” boot. Minnetonka works with Native artists, including Benjamin, who retain copyright ownership and receive royalties when shoes with their designs are sold.
Jori Miller Shearer, Minnetonka’s chief commercial officer, told Inc. the partnership is not necessarily about expanding distribution but about telling a bigger story: the company’s evolution, past reconciliation and values. Alongside the launch, the companies will donate to the Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network to support Anishinaabe language preservation and education.
- 1.Jennifer Conrad. Minnetonka and Madewell’s New Shoes Put Native Artists at the Center of the Creative Process. Inc, .
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