Introducing: Jeffrey Campbell x FP x Understated Leather

They say teamwork makes the dream work, right? Well then, is this such a dream. From an idea born from a conversation between two friends over dinner, to center stage (literally), Free People brings you this mighty collaboration between three beloved brands — one inspired by the spirit and spontaneity of dance.

Jeffrey Campbell and Understated Leather are two names you’ll find all over our website. From instantly recognizable shoes to the most head-turning, Western-inspired styles, both of them share the same DNA we infuse into everything FP: that creative, free-spirited aura that’s as eclectic as it is effortless. So it only makes sense that our best creative minds are friends in real life. One night, the genius behind Understated Leather, Jennifer Kassell, and Free People General Merchandise Manager, Kathryn, sat down for a chat in Austin, Texas, recounting memories from childhood and the state of fashion. One year later, four stunning styles of special, limited-run shoes touch down at Freepeople.com. The rest is history, but we’ll let you in on it.

I sat down with UL founder Jennifer to get all the deets on how this nostalgic collab came to fruition:

Free People: Who are you, and what is your position at Understated Leather?

Jennifer Kassell: “My name is Jen. And I own Understated Leather.”

FP: Tell me about the birth of this idea.

JK: “I've been thinking about getting into shoes and cowboy boots for a while, but it's made me a little bit nervous, just to dabble in it. So I was thinking it'd be such a cool thing to experiment with somebody that I really trusted. Kat and I were having dinner with both of our kids…And I kind of ran it past her really casually that I've been thinking about it, and she's like, ‘Why don’t we do it together, that's so cool!’ And I said to her that I'd love to design them, because I have all these ideas, but I don't really want to do the manufacturing…and then she suggested the partnership with Jeffrey Campbell.”


FP: Why Jeffrey Campbell?

JK: “My background has been in buying for…close to 15 years. I used to buy many shoe brands…but I also did buy from Jeffrey Campbell over my career. I never met them, because I did it from Australia, so how cool for it to be like a full circle of us all getting to collaborate together on something…And Jeffrey Campbell’s quality is so great. I actually bought a pair of their ballet shoes myself recently.”

JK: “Also, For Kat, Jeffrey Campbell is one of her biggest vendors and because she's been working with them for so long. So just a really cool way of all coming together and a big honor for us to be able to do that.”

FP: Why Free People?

JK: Our background with Free People is really cute…When we started Understated Leather, it wasn't like these big brands that start now, that have like a whole business plan and beautiful branding and all this money invested. I had lost my job, and I was maybe gonna go back to Australia. And my husband was just making things, and I was really good at knowing how to make those things cool. And Instagram had been released, it was like new. I had worked in wholesale buying, so (when we were making these things) I actually hit up a buyer who still works there, Carly, who was in charge of bags and she goes, ‘I’ll buy it! What are you selling?’ and I said, ‘I'm selling phone cases!’ …So in a nutshell, Free People was our first ever wholesale account. And basically the reason that I still have a business today…Free People has supported Understated Leather for ten years, every season, solidly, across SO many different divisions. You guys also always have so much exclusive stuff that we don't offer anybody else because we have such a good relationship with you guys. I feel very personally invested in Free People, and I know it's reciprocated. And that's kind of the level of where we're at...It's a real relationship, we really care about each other, (Kat) really wanted to help me make these shoes happen. And she trusted that I would make them cool…I was so grateful and appreciative of this opportunity to work with her. And it's my friend that I get to work with, which makes it so much more fun, so much more beautiful, and I get to do it for a company that I'm as passionate about as my own. I think that that's the secret sauce to our relationship in general with Free People and why this capsule is so cool and special.

FP: What influenced this collab, and why?

JK: Jeffrey's daughter is the person who we collaborated with on this, so it was three women – a representative from Free People, from Jeffrey Campbell, and from Understated Leather, all around the same age, and we all had the same memories and experiences in different parts of the world. And so when I did bring up this, like the nostalgic dance background, that's just like a time in my life that I look back on with so much love, we all just kind of really connected on that.”

“Everything that's fashionable that hits, has an emotional connection that reminds you of something that you loved. It might be a movie that you loved, or a person that you love, or a color or a moment or anything. For me, and us, it was dance…Like the leg warmer, the leotard. I was in competition, and to me, it feels like yesterday…We all have a story with dance, so it always reminds us of when our bodies were strong and when we were learning something. It's just like when you hear the music you want to like bang out the routine. I was thinking about that with those boots especially.”

FP: What was the first pair that was created?

JK: “The Center Stage boots, which are obviously named after the movie. Which again, is SO nostalgic. When she comes out in her red pointe shoes, it was like a WOW moment. We all felt that moment for her because we've all had that moment in our lives. I love that movie. It's just such a wicked moment. And those red pointe shoes are so iconic, almost like the red Louboutin heels. To me, that was a moment that nobody rivaled for a shoe. And so that was why we named them that. Obviously the cowboy boot makes a lot of sense for my brand, Jeffrey Campbell, and Free People, because you guys have had a very successful run on the Dagget and everything. Your customers love that shoe…So we used that as the base, and then we've built on top of it. And I've always loved leg warmers because of my dancing background. I even put them on my little two year old when she goes dancing. I think it's such a look. And I hadn't seen anybody do that before with the boot. Obviously we've seen the fold-over and all the different versions of cowboy boots, but I've never seen anybody bring that really soft, feminine touch to cowboy boots…and Jeffrey Campbell's team did such a good job with it. They put the little bow on which everybody loves. It’s removable, because I'm personally not a big bow girl, so we stand for the no-bow girls. We love an option. They just looked so beautiful, and I showed them to a lot of friends the little sketch that I did, and I got a lot of positive feedback, even from people that I know would never wear them or say that. They were all just like ‘These are awesome, these are so cool.’ It's a memorable shoe.”

FP: Did it inspire the direction for other designs?

JK: "...The rest of them were pretty easy after that. We just wanted them to be ballet-inspired, and we found different paths, different ballet shoe shapes that we loved from different eras, and played around with different materials that they weren't available in and added Western touches to them…there's a pair that has little studs as well, and you have a hat launching and it's got the same artwork on it. That's Understated Leather artwork, and it’s supposed to be, like, Western cool, you know? “Cowboy-core” is what they're calling it. Kind of like Bella Hadid’s vibe right now and what Beyonce is doing right now. She’s embracing her roots. And that’s how I feel about these shoes. Western is cool right now, and we’re in Texas. Kat is in Texas. It just made a lot of sense. And I think that’s when collaborations really work. When you’re not pushing things, you’re not trying to be trendy. We did this ages ago, a year ago. We didn’t know cowboy-core was coming in. We just did it because it was natural. And we’re really lucky. That’s all.”

FP: Describe how the core of Understated Leather is infused into this collab.

JK: “I’m always trying to bring something new to our customers. I like to surprise my followers multiple times a year at random times with things they did not see coming. Whether it's a pajama, or an underwear set, or a random collaboration, or a ballet-core shoe…I feel like sometimes they just want to see what crazy thing I do next.”

FP: Why shoes?

JK: “I'm a shoe gal. I'm not gonna lie. You can quote me on that…Anybody who has known me for a long time knows this fact…all my life savings are in my shoes. And so getting to work with them is my passion…I feel like you guys (at FP) come back every generation with a shoe, and I want to bring that shoe. That one that's a little different that everybody needs.”

“Shoes are also just such a beautiful transition, especially coming from mainly outerwear. It just made a lot of sense. I also feel like from an inclusivity perspective, shoes were a great option for this. I always thought that shoes and jackets were so interesting because those are the two things where your size doesn’t have to change that much. They’re valid and important for everybody and it makes every single type of person feel powerful, or beautiful. I always thought that was something really cool and something we could do for people.”

FP: Obviously dance and Western culture are the big influences here. What similarities do you see between the two, and how does that transfer to the collab?

JK: “I live down the street from a really famous honky tonk where they do two-step…and it honestly reminds me of a dance hall, and of my dance background. The whole thing is the same, it’s just a different routine…It’s shorter, it’s easier, it’s more attainable…and the whole idea of that kind of goes with my brand ethos too. We’re big on words like ‘unintimidating’ – it’s for everybody. I don’t believe that fashion should be anything else besides conversational pieces that make you feel so confident and good about yourself, and it should bring you the attention that you want, it should be exciting for you to wear, and it should be really fun and funny and it should bring out this part of your personality.”

FP: What do you hope resonates with the customer when they wear these styles?

JK: "You're gonna feel super special because you're going to get heaps of attention in them. People are going to remember that shoe. They've never seen anything like that before, but it's also kind of really easy to wear…Obviously we feel like the shoes themselves are special, but at the end of the day my goal always is that the person wearing them feels special.. I hope it gives them a little bit more power in the moment. Also, it’s a great reminder that there is love out there, and we do all love each other, and it doesn't matter what part of the world you're in. We all have so much in common.”

FP: What’s your favorite pair and why?

JK: “I feel really, really strongly about the Center Stage Boots. For obvious reasons like I said in that tangent before.”

Having my own dance background, learning about the nostalgia behind these pairs made me appreciate them even more. They are a reminder of that spark we felt while learning something new, that bright-eyedness we carried in our youth that we should take notes on today as adults. It is obvious that these designs were born out of pure love, passion, and friendship, as each brand did their part to make it happen. I can feel the heart behind this collaboration, and we hope you can, too. Hit a two-step or an eight-count in them for us, okay?