This past weekend in celebration of our partnership with Ecco on the Track 25, we hosted a Careers and Creativity Panel at our Concepts NYC location. Together, we created a space for discussion around current shifts in the industry, the importance of storytelling, and challenging the convention as we all strive for uniqueness. All themes that sit at the core of Concepts and Ecco’s brand values.
We were honored to shine a light on some incredible individuals, their craftsmanship, and their willingness to innovate all while maintaining high heritage standards at their respective brands and fashion houses. Thank you for sharing your stories Britt Kleinman, Martin Chapuy, Rob Price, and Jared Udell.
Watch clips from our discussion below, and read more about our panelists.
Panelists
Britt Kleinman moved from Los Angeles to the east coast to study Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She began her career designing soft goods for Samsonite and Timberland, then made her way to New York to become head bag designer for Jack Spade. In 2014, Brit branched off to start AVO and launch her flagship collection of leather hand-dyed goods, which has had national and global recognition in specialty leather pieces from residential and commercial to large-scale projects – all designed and made in her Brooklyn workshop.
Martin Chapuy is a senior footwear designer at Coach and co-founder & designer of clothing brand Hors-D’oeuvre. With a talent for design, color, materials, and personal interests in basketball and sneakers, Martin has cultivated an expensive CV while working Lacoste and ARKK, and FILA and Master Classes at Pensole Footwear Design (now Pensole Lewis College) in partnership with New Balance among other projects leading up to where he is today.
Rob Price has spent his career growing global brands and designing products that improve people’s daily lives. As a Senior Fashion Design Director, he has worked for some of the world's most respected companies, including Michael Kors and Coach. Currently, he serves as a branding/design consultant, focusing on innovative solutions and sustainable strategies, for a range of startups and growing brands. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids. He graduated from Pratt Institute for Industrial Design.
Jared Udell, a Senior Footwear Designer for ECCO is a key component of the Concepts x Ecco collaboration. His extensive experience in the footwear design space has allowed him to develop a unique perspective in the footwear world. He has worked for such brands as Frye and Mountrek over the last 16 years. His creative foundations started with his BFA in painting during his undergraduate years at Syracuse University and then in sculpture during his MFA studies at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Jared has always had a very specific knack for designing and thinking about footwear from the inside out. To Jared, shoes have always been equal part sculpture to equal part comfort functional footwear.