Cole Haan Chukka: The History of a Premium Brand

May 16
17:42

2018

Anas Jafri

Anas Jafri

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

The Cole Haan brand is world-renowned for its commitment to quality and fashion-consciousness. The company offers a wide variety of fantastic outfit pieces, from the Cole Haan Chukka and men’s eyewear to jackets and women’s footwear.

mediaimage

Cole Haan was founded in 1928 in Chicago with the intention of becoming a premium outlet for men’s footwear. The company quickly hit the men’s footwear scene by introducing innovative and fashionable men’s shoes,Cole Haan Chukka: The History of a Premium Brand Articles such as the Cole Haan penny loafers, saddles, bucks, and hand-sewn footwear. In 1979, Cole Haan entered the women’s footwear arena, having set the stage for their wildly successful men’s footwear lines. Their new women’s footwear line made a statement in the industry, offering shoes in bold and attractive colors such as red, green, and other bright colors. The women's line eventually grew to include other accessories such as outerwear, handbags, hosiery, sunglasses, and much more.

Even with its vast variety of high fashion and standard-setting products, the Cole Haan brand continued to expand its product variation to include a line of driving shoes and a wide range of both business casual and dress shoes for business people. These shoes carry the common denominator between comfort and style, focusing their designs to be utility shoes that keep your feet comfortable and fashionable in and outside of the office.

In 1988, the Cole Haan brand was acquired by the athletic footwear mogul Nike, which gave the Cole Haan brand a broader and more international reach. This move worked to continue to build the Cole Haan brand into a greater and more broadly recognized luxury footwear and accessories brand. The acquisition of Cole Haan by Nike was also very impactful on the Cole Haan shoe designs, as this was the beginning of the installation of Nike Air comfort technology into the Cole Haan men and women's shoe designs, completely reinventing the emphasis on providing both comfort and fashion.

In 2000, Cole Haan introduced an online store, which changed the way their customers could experience shopping for all of their favorite Cole Haan shoes and accessories, making a shopping experience possible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with their website. This new global web presence grew the reach of the Cole Haan brand worldwide.

In the present day, Cole Haan has become an industry leader in quality men and women’s footwear. Some of the brand’s most well-known products include its offering of Chukka Boots. Cole Haan chukkas are ankle high leather boots with suede or leather uppers and leather soles. The name chukka comes from the game polo, where a chukka is a period of play in the game. The shoes reflect the sport of polo with their fresh, sporty style.

Cole Haan makes a waterproof Chukka, which is available in various colors of waterproof leather. These specially designed shoes are lined with leather and feature a rubber heel and forepart with a leather waist. A beaded storm welt and injected TPU midsole contributes to this shoe’s waterproof attributes, while also maintaining a look of simplicity. These waterproof chukkas are available in black and harvest brown leather.

Another Cole Haan chukka design is the ØriginalGrand, which gives a fresh spin on the chukka with a full collection of new silhouettes. Made with Vachetta leather, the ØriginalGrand features storm welt, EVA midsole, and a rubber outsole with Grand.OS technology, which creates all-around protection for dry, comfortable feet over long wear periods. The ØriginalGrand chukka is available in Woodbury-ivory, black-white, and black color schemes.

For more than 80 years, the Cole Haan Brand has grown rapidly throughout the globe, setting the bar for premium luxury items that prioritize both classic fashion and comfort. From the brand's wide variety of accessories, outfits, and shoes the bar has been set for premium footwear that effortlessly fuses style and comfort. For more information on Cole Haan, or to find the right style of premium leather shoe for you, visit theshoemart.com.