Keds, the iconic women’s sneaker brand, announced the release of the inaugural issue of The Keds Hand-book for Women, just in time for International Women’s Day. Since creating the first sneaker for women back in 1916, Keds has been about helping women expand the possibility of what they can do and who they can be.
A lot of strides have been made since then, but there are still rules—written and unwritten—on the “right” way to be a woman. Keds is helping women break these rules by reinforcing the idea that every woman should feel comfortable asserting her true self, whatever that means.
The Keds Hand-book for Women is inspired by The Keds Hand-book for Girls series published in the early 1920s which encouraged young women to get out and exert their independence—a revolutionary move in a time when society was telling women to sit pretty and ask for permission. But rather than offering advice on how to fish or play basketball, Keds has modernized the hand-book to give women the chance to tell their own stories in their own words.
It isn’t just a hand-book, it’s a movement and a platform to encourage women to be their true selves, whatever that means to them. It’s about letting women, real women, tell their stories—unfiltered and unapologetically—because by showing the world that there is no “one” or “right” way to be, we pave a path for more acceptance, compassion, and understanding for all. Something Keds has stood for for over 100 years.
“At Keds, we’re a group of mostly women (and a few good men), so we get how frustrating it is when brands try to tell women how they should look and act. There is no one definition of womanhood, “ says Lisa Lewis, Keds’ Vice President of Marketing. “We modernized the hand-book as a way to embrace our heritage in a new and fresh way – to make an emotional connection with our consumer that’s authentic to us and that speaks to her passions and beliefs in a way that empowers her to do her thing, and not to live by anyone else’s rules.”
To bring the first issue to life Keds worked with over seventy women, from photographers to makeup artists, printers, illustrators, fashion theorists, stylists, videographers to photo editors – even the brand’s new fonts were designed by women. The issue is centered around the theme of Power and features the stories of twenty-eight inspirational women, from teenage activists to big-time executives, who show that finding power in womanhood comes in many forms-from overcoming loss through writing to finding balance as a working mom.
A few of the notable women featured within the hand-book include Founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, Meena Harris; Mental Health expert and Founder of The Little Ark, Nina Westbrook; Aija Mayrock, the bestselling author of The Survival Guide to Bullying, and Alana Mayo, who heads production and development at Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society.
To read the issue, click here.