Irregular Choice
{{Short description|British shoe manufacturer}}
Irregular Choice is a fashion brand founded in Brighton in 1999.{{cite news|title=In Short: A round-up of today's other stories in brief|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-30663618.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302114110/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-30663618.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2017|accessdate=5 September 2014|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=8 February 2012}} It specialises in unusual footwear, bags and accessories.
History
Irregular Choice was founded in 1999 by the designer Dan Sullivan. He told Women's Wear Daily that his brightly coloured, unusual designs were created in response to "boring" and "very black and brown" British High Street fashions in the late 1990s, and that the printed and coloured footwear sold far better than the classic designs.{{cite news| last1=Edelson |first1=Sharon |title=U.K. footwear brand goes sweet for SoHo.(Irregular Choice) |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-172527109.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921204324/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-172527109.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2014 |accessdate=5 September 2014|work=Women's Wear Daily|date=29 November 2007}} Sullivan's mother had originally designed for the fashion label Red or Dead, and his father had founded a shoe brand called Pod, which led Sullivan down the path of wanting to "do something mad and adventurous, something based on an irregular concept."{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Sarah |title=Business Unusual; Irregular Choice's Designer Talks Lateral Thinking, British Fashion and A Certain Brick Wall. (Sullivan, Danny)(Interview)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113236293.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921204322/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113236293.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2014|accessdate=5 September 2014|work=Footwear News|date=9 February 2004}}
Irregular Choice has collaborated with multiple brands and designers. A small collection of shoes created for Heatherette's 2007 collection reportedly led to demand from the likes of Mena Suvari, Theodora Richards and Lydia Hearst; and was followed up by a spin-off range called Heatherette Loves Irregular Choice in response to fan demand.{{cite news|title=Irregular Shoe Candy|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2007/02/26/irregular-shoe-candy|accessdate=5 September 2014|work=VOGUE UK|date=26 February 2007}} For two years they produced a line in collaboration with the cult fashion doll Blythe, featuring the doll's image.
Products
File:Irregular Choice Eternal Friend.jpg
Among Irregular Choice's early designs were shoes and boots based upon the traditional Japanese split-toe look.{{cite news|last1=Russak|first1=Brian|last2=Taylor|first2=Sarah|title=INSIDER.(Nike Inc. loses shoes, Patricia Field shops at Sole Commerce, 'Queer as Folk' holds premier party)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-98438157.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921204326/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-98438157.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2014|accessdate=5 September 2014|work=Footwear News|date=3 March 2003}} In Summer 2004, the brand introduced handbags; followed up with gloves, umbrellas and other accessories for that year's Fall collections. In February 2008 they launched a womenswear line using prints that Sullivan's team designed themselves. One Irregular Choice trademark is the "character heel," including rabbit-shaped ones (called 'Thumper'),{{cite web|last1=McQuarrie|first1=Laura|title=The 'Thumper' Irregular Choice Shoes Sport Unusual Heels|url=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/irregular-choice-shoes|website=Trendhunter|accessdate=5 September 2014}} garden gnome{{cite web|last1=McQuarrie|first1=Laura|title=The 'When in Gnome' Heels by Irregular Choice are Gnome-Supported|url=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/when-in-gnome |website=Trendhunter |accessdate=6 August 2013}} and unicorn designs.{{cite web|last1=Baxter|first1=Michael|title=These Unicorn Heels Make Walking Feel Like a Magical Experience|url=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/unicorn-heels |website=Trendhunter |accessdate= 1 February 2014}}
Stores
In 2003 Irregular Choice debuted their shoes onto the American market, and within a year were being stocked by 240 stores across the United States. In 2007 Irregular Choice opened its first shop in SoHo, Manhattan, with weekly sales from $25,000 to $35,000. By 2012 they were selling products in more than 50 countries, with new shops opening in Hong Kong and Paris and aiming to open a new shop in Dublin.
In 2008, their flagship store launched on Carnaby Street in London,{{cite news |last1=Barnett |first1=Leisa |title=Something Irregular |url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2008/11/05/irregular-choice-opens-london-store|accessdate=5 September 2014 |work=VOGUE UK|date=5 November 2008}}{{cite web|title=Irregular Choice: Footwear brand's debut UK store on Carnaby Street brightens shoppers' moods!|url=http://www.company.co.uk/city-guide/london/shop/irregular-choice-32148|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905212811/http://www.company.co.uk/city-guide/london/shop/irregular-choice-32148|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2014|website=Company|publisher=Hearst Magazines UK|accessdate=5 September 2014}} and alongside the Brighton shop (opened in 2010),{{cite news|last1=Bearne|first1=Suzanne|title=Irregular Choice to open second UK store|url=https://www.drapersonline.com/news/irregular-choice-to-open-second-uk-store|accessdate=5 September 2014|work=Drapers {{subscription required}}|date=16 June 2010}} two additional Irregular Choice shops were opened in Leicester and Norwich in 2012.{{cite news |last1=Gallagher |first1=Victoria |title=Irregular Choice plans duo of new stores |url=https://www.drapersonline.com/news/irregular-choice-plans-duo-of-new-stores |accessdate=5 September 2014 |work=Drapers {{subscription required}}|date=26 October 2012}}
Links
- Official website: http://www.irregularchoice.com/