After nearly 100 years, Keds has become an American icon, and now the brand is hoping to capture even more hearts with a new range of apparel for spring 2012, WWD reports.
According to the report, Keds is taking it slow and steady, indicating that they don't view their new apparel business as just a flash in the pan. As Matt Rubel, president and CEO of Keds' parent company, Collective, told WWD:
"This will not be rolled out in some big way — this will be market by market. The right accounts will be chosen to build apparel for what is one of America’s sweetheart brands."
In keeping with this idea, the new "casual" line will launch first with a limited-edition collection, and then expand to include sportswear separates, knitwear, pants, jeans, and even dresses by 2012.
Keds president Kristen Kohler Burrows describes the brand as "democratic," with a kind of pan-American appeal, so we'd wager that same classic aesthetic will apply to the new apparel.
