On Dec. 4, Martha Stewart will be honored with the Icon Award the 38th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is a cover story from the magazine’s Dec. 2 print issue about the trailblazer’s incredible year.

When FN went in-depth with Martha Stewart for a June 2023 cover story, the entrepreneur opened up about her aversion to an oft-overused label — legend.

“Legends are dead. I would much rather be an icon,” Stewart said emphatically. 

Few people embody the word as perfectly as Stewart, the original influencer who has an inherent talent for reinventing herself again and again.  

Now, as she prepares to accept the Icon Award at the 2024 FN Achievement Awards, Stewart ponders her own definition of the term. “To me, an icon is a living person who has accomplished something extraordinary during their lifetime,” the octogenarian said. “My icons are adventurous, take risks and are forward thinking.”

Stewart is describing herself: After all, it was just 18 months ago that she made history as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s oldest cover model, a moment that was hard to top. But in 2024, the image maker again proved she’s unstoppable, from her starring role at the Paris Olympics with Snoop Dogg (her bestie and fellow Skechers ambassador) to the launch of her 100th book (“Martha: The Cookbook”). And recently, her viral “Netflix” documentary has had just about everyone buzzing. 

In today’s social media era, when fame has never been more fleeting, Stewart understands how to keep fans highly engaged — and much of her power lies in her ability to look ahead.

For example, as some people are still discovering her film, Stewart — who was openly critical about certain aspects of it — is already talking about “Martha 2.” “There’s still more to tell,” she said last month during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

The story she’s told so far — the incredible rise, the dramatic fall and the illustrious comeback — has certainly surprised and delighted viewers, especially ambitious young women who are looking for a role model during a turbulent time.  

“Watching the Martha Stewart documentary and she is just a delightful bad ass bit** [who] gets shit done,” wrote one Threads user.

Said another: “This Martha Stewart documentary was IT! I had tears in my eyes knowing how the world can be cruel to successful women. She has lived so many lives, what an ICON!”

The attention around the documentary — which has personal new revelations about Stewart’s childhood and marriage, as well as her time in prison — has helped drive demand for “Martha: The Cookbook.” It was released in November, more than four decades after Stewart’s first book, “Entertaining.” 

“What I think people like about my books are the recipes, photographs and stories that are evocative, personal and inclusive. Creating an ambiance and environment that speaks to the food is very important for the visuals,” she said. 

In this digital age where online recipes are ubiquitous, Stewart is immensely proud of the fact that her cookbooks remain a mainstay in American kitchens — and continue to influence chefs everywhere.

“I went to a big Christmas party last year and noticed a huge mound of butter,” she recalled. “I quietly laughed to myself as the ‘butter mound’ was featured in ‘Entertaining.’ Talk about timeless.” 

She Never Stops Surprising

“You can always work a little bit harder and maybe get to your goal a little bit faster. I work 24/7,” Stewart said at FN’s June 2023 “Women Who Rock” event. 

That’s not much of an exaggeration: In the span of a frenetic few days last month, she held court at the Louis Vuitton store opening in New York, traveled to Charleston, S.C., to celebrate her new book in front of a crowd of 1,200 people, sat down for an on-stage iHeartRadio interview, toasted a friend’s book launch at The Carlyle and appeared on “The Today Show” to serve up her brioche stuffing-filled roasted pumpkin. (The travel lover later revealed she was skipping Thanksgiving turkey this year and taking her grandchildren to Rome during the holiday instead.) 

While she’s been spending much of her time promoting the book and documentary, Stewart also continues her other pursuits, including a burgeoning partnership with Skechers. The entrepreneur has visited the company’s Manhattan Beach, Calif., headquarters several times, furthering her education about the business of footwear. 

“I really admire that Skechers is a family company with Robert Greenberg, the patriarch, his son Michael and many other family members. Everyone there is considered family. I like them because they are innovators,” she said. “Designing a line of comfortable and useful footwear with Skechers has been a challenge and pleasure.”

Michael Greenberg lauded Stewart for fully committing to everything she does.

“Martha isn’t just wicked smart and creative — she’s incredibly funny and fearless as a person. A true icon on every level,” said Greenberg. Looking ahead, the partners are planning to expand Stewart’s Skechers collection internationally.

“She is truly unstoppable. Her ambition knows no bounds, matched only by her pursuit of perfection,” Greenberg said.

Strong business partners have been crucial to Stewart’s recent success — especially Marquee Brands, which in 2019 acquired the Martha Stewart nameplate from Sequential Brands Group.

Together with Marquee, Stewart is working on her next projects, including a collection of gardening tools. Her empire already spans beauty, bedding, crafts, fashion, food and beverage, restaurants, home décor, kitchen, office, pet and wellness. Up next: a retail project in Dubai.

“Martha doesn’t just set the standard — she redefines it, inspiring all generations to strive for excellence in every aspect of life,” said Heath Golden, chief executive officer of Marquee Brands. “She is the very definition of an icon: timeless, innovative and ever-evolving.”

As Stewart herself likes to say, “When you’re through changing, you’re through.” 

Now, with 2025 coming into focus, Stewart knows many people, women especially, are wrestling with the future. Despite the uncertainty ahead, Stewart is encouraging everyone to step it up, confidentially and with purpose. “Be positive. Don’t be afraid of anything. Go for it,” she said. 

Martha Stewart will never stop going for it.

For 38 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2024 event is supported by sponsors Listrak, Marc Fisher, Nordstrom and Vibram.

As 2025 comes into focus, Italian design specialist Industria del Design is setting its sights on major expansion in the U.S. market.

The company, which focuses on innovative design and development out of its Padova, Italy headquarters, has a 30-year history in the shoe industry. It employs a team of 70 people dedicated to its brand partnerships.

“We work like an in-house design team and partner closely with the creative directors of the brands,” said Massimo Giussani, chief design officer, who previously worked for brands such as Fratelli Rossetti and Nina Ricci, among others.

Industria del Design has worked with dozens of diverse names — from luxury to mass market — during the last three decades. Its partners have included Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Bally, Clarks, Kate Spade, Nine West and many others.

Now the company — led by CEO Francesco Pilli — aims to team up with more American brands who are looking for design and development expertise. “We have a deep knowledge of the American market and we want to be important there again. We want to build a strong office there,” said Micaela Sporeni, global sales and marketing director.

Part of the company’s services include an in-depth market analysis for each of its brands. “Before we start a collection, we do a very specific study about the market and the brands. We can advise our customers on their strengths, where they can go and where the opportunities are,” Sporeni said.

Sustainability is a major part of the company’s focus — with an emphasis on recycled materials, sustainable energy and eco-friendly research and development.

This year, the the company opened a Materials Research and Development Laboratory at its headquarters, developed in collaboration with Weev. The space offers a dedicated environment for experimentation, storage, analysis, and materials research. “We are always studying new technologies for footwear,” Sporeni said.

To support the next generation of footwear talent, the company also operates an academy to give aspiring designers the ability to learn and work alongside the in-house team. In the past few years, the company has brought 12 students on board full time, according to Giussani. “This is very important to us,” he said.

The running market has been surging for the past few years, and after The Running Event, it looks like the momentum will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

“All the data shows that running is a hot category right now, so that’s getting people’s attention. There was management from big retailers who came out just to get the vibe and see what was going on,” Spurwink River advisor and BCE Consulting senior advisor Matt Powell, who attended this week’s trade show in Austin, Texas, told FN. “It really comes back to the fact that this business is the best part of the sneaker business right now and people are trying to capitalize on that.”

In a note from Janine Stichter of BTIG released today, the analyst said running footwear will continue to outpace broader footwear, not only in actual participation, but also in the continued growth in average selling price. The latter is due to the proliferation of super trainers on the market, which feature most of the technology found in super shoes but are used for daily training rather than race day.

Stichter’s note also highlighted both the exceptional product pipelines and booth business of industry leaders On and Hoka, and that newer brands continue to disrupt the legacy players.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead for 2025.

Innovation

Both major players and emerging competitors alike are delivering innovative styles for the road and the trail in 2025.

For instance, On revealed one of the most eye-catching and compelling shoes at TRE, the Cloudboom Max, which the brand believes fills a gap in the market and described as a race day shoe made for the everyday, average runner. The shoe, which features its Speedboard underfoot that was tuned to make it a little more forgiving, will release in August and retail for $230.

Also, Under Armour showcased a shoe that would make most runners stop and stare. The athletic giant unveiled the Infinite Mega, a collaboration with Speedland, a brand founded by industry veterans Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon who both worked at Under Armour. The shoe features a massive midsole stack — with heights of 35 millimeters at the forefoot and 43 millimeters at the heel — and dual, two-direction Boa dials for a customizable heel fit. It arrives in January and will retail for $250.

Power Brands Continue to Dominate

The running industry is filled with giants, and those behemoths will remain strong in 2025. Puma, for example, has been gaining traction since reentering the category in 2021, and will deliver shoes for all levels of runners.

The highlight of its 2025 releases is an update to its rule-breaking super shoe, the Fast-RB Nitro, that debuted in August. This time, Puma is swapping out the laceless upper for one with laces, allowing the wear to have a more customized fit. It arrives in January and will retail for $350.

Also, Adidas will look to have both its elite athletes and consumers alike cross finish lines in the Adizero Adios Pro 4, which will arrive in January. The brand stated it took learnings from its extremely limited $500 super shoe, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, that arrived in 2023 and made a $250 price point version. Highlights of the shoe include a new formulation of its Lightstrike Pro midsole tech, which is significantly lighter, and its carbon-infused Energy Rods that propel the foot forward.

And you can’t forget Nike, which has long been scrutinized for its innovation woes and focus predominantly on the elite runner. In 2025, the Swoosh will simplify its line to three pillars so runners can find the right shoe for them. The pillars are supportive cushioning (which will feature its Structure franchise), responsive cushioning (which will feature its Pegasus franchise) and maximum cushioning (which will feature its Vomero franchise). Nike stated 2025 is the year of Vomero, with the Vomero 18 coming in at $150.

Smaller Players Emerging

The small will also be mighty in 2025.

Tracksmith, for instance, revealed its Eliot Racer at TRE, a super shoe the brand stated looks like a racing flat when you toe the line. It is a plated shoe built with the same architecture as its Eliot Runner, such as its notable comfortable sock liner, but weighs just 7.5 ounces and has a plush stack of midsole cushioning underfoot (33 millimeters at the forefoot and 39 millimeters at the heel. It arrives in March and will retail for $280.

Also, Diadora — an Italian brand with rich performance history — will deliver shoes it believes will be competitive with more dominant players.

The brand’s biggest shoe of 2025 will be the Nucleo 2, a look the brand thinks rivals the Clifton, which is Hoka’s most popular road running franchise. The Nucleo 2 is in market now, however Diadora plans to release new colorways every two months starting in January. The shoe retails for $160.

The Everyday Runner Is a Big Opportunity

Diadora isn’t alone in sharpening its focus on the everyday runner, a demographic that continues to grow. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), casual runners — defined as those who run one to 49 times a year — has gained momentum in recent years, and in 2023 eclipsed core runners, who run 50-plus times. The SFIA confirmed with FN via email that since 2008, core running participation has always been higher than casual.

Asics shined a light at TRE on a new addition to one of its most beloved lines, the Gel-Nimbus 27, which arrives in January. The latest shoe in its tried-and-true franchise features single piece of FF Blast+ midsole foam with incapsulated Gel in the heel, and added 2 millimeters of cushioning to the midsole height without adding weight from the Gel-Nimbus 26. Also, it was built with knit colors and pull tabs that offer comfort to the wearer before the shoe is even on. It will retail for $165.

Saucony, too, boosted its line for the everyday runner in 2025. For the Triumph 23, which Saucony described as its premium neutral shoe, the brand added its new SRS sockliner for step-in comfort, as well as its redesigned XT-900 carbon rubber outsole to improve the shoe’s flexibility and durability. Also, the shoe includes a reformulated version of its Pwrrun PB midsole cushioning that is softer and lighter.

About the Author

Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.

She’s the ultimate icon.

Capping off another incredible year of major achievements, Martha Stewart will receive the Icon Award at the FN Achievement Awards on Dec. 4.

In 2024, the image maker once again proved she’s unstoppable, from her starring role with Snoop Dogg at the Paris Olympics to the launch of her 100th book to her viral “Netflix” documentary.

Above all, the image maker understands that her ability to continually evolve is one of her most powerful attributes. “I was brought up to do what I want to do when I want to do it as well as I can do it,” said the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in an FN interview last year. “Something I always say is to be curious and keep learning something new every day.”

Millions of fans have been hanging on Stewart’s recommendations since 1982, when she shot to fame with her first how-to book, “Entertaining.” Her 100th title, “Martha: The Cookbook,” which released this month, is a collection of classics, and Stewart has been working tirelessly to promote the project.

Stewart also has been expanding her partnership with Skechers. In October, she appeared on QVC to promote her new collection with the brand and regularly models the kicks on Instagram.

At the FNAAs next month, Stewart will join a powerful roster of 2024 honorees at the red carpet gala and awards ceremony.

Each year, the FNAAs — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — celebrate footwear’s influential style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans.

For sponsorship and ticket information, contact Samantha Rumsky at srumsky@fairchildfashion.com.

For media interested in covering the FNAAs in person on Dec. 4 in New York, please send a request to FNAArequest@ow-ny.com.

Giuseppe Zanotti swung through Paris on Thursday to present his spring-summer 2025 collection, and host a lavish, lively dinner at Caviar Kaspia in honor of his brand’s 30th anniversary.

Told the traditional gift for that milestone is pearl, he was surprised, familiar mostly with silver for 25th anniversaries and gold for the 50th.

Clutching a small glass of chilled vodka, Zanotti related that in Italian culture, pearls have a negative association around weddings, their round shape resembling tears and considered by some an omen for a sad marriage.

Not that he hasn’t used pearls on shoes over his vast career, which spans 40 years if you count his decade as a freelance designer.

“I used them for the first time with Vera Wang, because I designed bridal shoes for her, and she loved to apply the pearl,” he related.

Artist Thomas Lélu, photographer Cate Underwood and influencer Camille Charrière were among revelers who tucked into smoked salmon and caviar-topped potatoes, co-branded Kaspia/Giuseppe turquoise napkins spread on their laps.

Zanotti has already hosted anniversary dinners in Taipei, Bangkok and Hong Kong, and he’s planning another for New York City in early December in tandem with a collection presentation.

He’s also marking the milestone with a special shoe.

“We designed a sandal with a ring toe. I first did them 30 years ago, and I changed them a little bit,” he said, noting the style would be available for one year from January.

Propped on easels at one end of the dining room were photos from a fashion shoot he did featuring the style, the toe-ring glinting with crystal embroideries.

Today, Zanotti said he sells more flats and mid-heel shoes than high heels, “but also I cannot forget this sense of elegance of the high stilettos,” he said.

The industry rallied for this year’s Shoes for a Cure fundraiser, coming together to raise more than $700,000 for breast cancer research.

More than 350 volunteers from 53 companies pitched in at the five-day shoe sale, held last month at Chelsea Market. All told, more than 5,000 pairs of shoes were sold, and the event brought in more than $320,000. In addition, a number of big donations brought the total raised to over $700,0000; last year, the event raised more than $600,000.

“We had a really strong year. It was so much more impactful and engaging compared with last year because we knew how to do it logistically,” said Sandi Mines, president of the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation (FFCF). She added that corporate teams from across the industry were out in full force, giving the event a major boost. “It was really cool to see companies come together to do something great.”

In addition, an intimate cocktail party at L’Avenue at Saks, held the evening before the sale kicked off, helped build buzz around the cause. Emily Rockefeller hosted the event, and Katie Couric also spoke to the crowd of top supporters.

The 2024 Shoes for a Cure grant recipient is Dr Lisa Newman, a New York doctor who has spent her entire career researching the cure for breast cancer. Newman has also been focusing on ways to close the gap in breast cancer treatment for women of color.

Outside of the New York effort, Shoes for a Cure launched a Miami event in partnership with the Miami Design District.

Proceeds from the one-day charity shopping activation and private cocktail event were directed to Braman Family Cancer Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Running is hereditary for British-Jamaican athlete Adelle Tracey.

Her father, Nicholas, was a 400-meter runner for Jamaica and she always thought she would be following in his steps.

The younger Tracey, who is sponsored by Hoka, now primarily competes in 800m races, but she’s been running ever since she could remember. After being born in Seattle, her family moved to the Parish of Manchester in Jamaica, where she spent her childhood.

“The culture of running in Jamaica is a massive deal, so everybody runs. It’s been ingrained in me from a young age, and when I moved to the U.K., I always felt like it was already part of my identity to be a runner and I was really strong at it,” she said while sitting on a director’s chair in the Hoka store in London’s Covent Garden.

At school, Tracey joined the club system for gifted young athletes. Sports days were her favorite at school as it was an opportunity to show her strength.

“I wasn’t very academic and a lot of the reasons why I run are because I am neurodiverse, being dyslexic and dyscalculia. I gained a lot of confidence from being in sport as a child and I could bring that back to the classroom and tackle the challenges there with a lot more confidence,” she said, adding that she encourages anyone who is neurodiverse to lean into their strengths because it “gives so much power.”

Tracey made her first team for Great Britain at the age of 16, and at 19 she was chosen by Dame Kelly Holmes to be one of the torchbearers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Being recognized by Holmes was a motivating factor for her to want to become an Olympian. The moment remains sentimental to her. “I’ve only watched it back a handful of times, because I want it to remain really special,” said the now-31-year-old.

This summer, Tracey made it to the 2024 Summer Olympics, but represented Jamaica instead of Great Britain.

She went through a change of allegiance process that involved not competing for Great Britain for three years, which coincidentally happened at the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve now fulfilled my childhood dream of being able to compete for the country that I grew up in. I’ve loved my experience as a G.B. athlete as well, and it’s been a privilege to be able to compete for both sides of your heritage,” said Tracey, whose mother is British.

The Jamaican team also has a rich legacy when it comes to the Olympics — Usain Bolt was the first athlete to hold the 100m and 200m world record; Elaine Thompson had a time of 10.71 seconds at the Rio Olympics in 2016; and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the first Jamaican woman to win a gold medal for a 100m race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tracey was close to her own Olympic dreams in Paris this summer, until her plans took a left turn.

She didn’t make the repechage round in the 800m or 1500m races because she suffered from an injury that tore the arch of her foot in May that didn’t show up in an MRI scan until a second scan the day after the Olympics. 

She soldered on and cross trained every day but had to refocus her priorities. “Being there, I just had to take it all in and be thankful for being there and making the start line,” she said.

In the meantime, she’s spent a lot of time with friends and family. It’s taken her two months to be able to return to the gym and she’s started running again.

Her training regime is a rigorous one. Tracey spends three months a year running at high altitude.

She in Kenya in January, followed by South Africa in the spring and the south of France in the summer.

Kenya is one of her favorite places to run. “It reminds me of where I grew up in Jamaica and there’s something peaceful and simple about the way of living there. And as a woman, you feel empowered to run because you feel perfectly safe,” she explained.

As a Hoka athlete, she also spends time training in Flagstaff, Ariz., where the athletic brand has an elite running group.

She credits the brand for celebrating athletes as individuals rather than treating them as robots.

And the running trails in Arizona aren’t half bad either. “It’s a lot of dirt trails and beautiful pine forests. I run for miles and miles, and the surface is incredible because of the high elevation. There are also some cool spots in Sedona, where there are red rocks,” said Tracey.

Her training is leading up to the 2025 World Athletics Championships that will take place in September in Tokyo, Japan.

“I’m excited to start afresh and my body’s healthy again. I think the year before was a really great year for me, so I’m ready to build on that,” she said.

All companies face the constant tug-of-war between vision, growth and fiscal responsibility. But sustainable footwear and accessories company Rothy’s has a unique perspective on this, as one executive oversees these seemingly opposing sides of the business.

In a Rothy’s fireside chat video for WWD x FN x SJ business hub Retail Rx, Nikara Johns, senior editor at Footwear News, sat down with Dayna Quanbeck—who has the multiple title of COO, CFO and president at the growing company. Quanbeck admitted it can be quite a juggling act, but that even while focusing on efficiency, organization and fiscal responsibility (while wearing her CFO hat), she never wants to ‘kill the dream.’

“What I love is to let my team go big, and I know that we will always come back to a discipline and rigor that is rooted in everything we do, and that’s part of having a sustainable business. But I know that if I don’t support the big ideation, we can’t get the financials either,” she said.

Initially started as a digitally native footwear brand, Rothy’s has been growing at a rapid clip, adding stores, wholesale, a shop-in-shop in London, bags, as well as men’s and kid’s product. All this works different parts of Quanbeck’s brain.

“I have an ability, like most CFOs, to look around corners and seek correlation, cause and effect, data patterns, data recognition. [But] it’s not just the numbers… sometimes it’s technical, sometimes it’s creative. That comes with the team dreaming, and then we can get to tactics, then refinement.”

To learn more about Rothy’s and watch the full fireside chat, CLICK HERE.

Just call him the shoe chef.

“This is my kitchen and I like to play with different ingredients,” said Giuseppe Zanotti, during an interview in his stylish Via Montenapoleone showroom during Milan Fashion Week.

As the designer marks 30 years of his namesake label, he is looking back with a special capsule collection focusing on the iconic Ring sandal, a key style from the beginning. The look is reinterpreted in a classic flat and new block heel.

For spring ’25, the designer also explored his love of jewelry shoes, using an oversized gold nugget to decorate pumps and sandals. The ornamentation helps modernize the classic pump, according to the designer. “I like to create a fusion between shoes and accessories,” Zanotti said. “The gold nuggets with the open toe and block heel, for me it’s my ideal pump.”

Zanotti also showed off a sexy sandal, defined by its geometric lines and ’80’s aesthetic. “I love to do shoes that are seasonless and fashionless,” he said.

Elsewhere in the spring ’25 collection, details define the assortment — from delicate metal flowers to glittering crystals to gold dome plates. The signature pointed-toe Intriigo silhouette is updated with hand-woven leather knots, while ballerinas go from day to night.

As he cooks up his next collection, Zanotti is expanding his retail presence with a new space at Milan’s Rinascente department store.

This fall, the designer has also gotten a boost from none other than Taylor Swift, who wore his over-the-knee boots to two Kansas City Chiefs games in September. Zanotti said he’s proud to have worked with the songstress since the beginning of her career, but seeing her step out in his shoes time and again next gets old.

“She goes everywhere in these boots,” he said. “I’m so happy!”

Danny Wasserman, the retail visionary who turned his family’s Upper West Side store into an independent footwear institution, died on Saturday. He was 80.

After a recent fall at home, Wasserman had been recovering for a few days in a New York hospital and died unexpectedly after going into cardiac arrest, according to Lester, his son. “He was waiting for a bed at a rehab facility and had been saying he was going to check himself out the hospital,” the younger Wasserman said, of his dad’s determination to the end.

Danny was the guiding force at Tip Top Shoes for more than 50 years — from the moment he joined his own father, Max Wasserman, in the business.

“This industry meant everything to him — he loved the shoes, the vendors, the gossip,” said Lester. “It was all about the love.”

In 2025, Tip Top, located on West 72nd Street, will mark both the 85th anniversary of its founding and the 60th anniversary of Wasserman family ownership — no small feat at a time when it has never been harder to be an independent operator. (The family acquired the store from original owner Ruth Pfiferling.)

Wasserman took great pride in the retailer’s ability to differentiate itself with top-notch customer service. “We tell our staff that everything we have is available somewhere else,” he told FN in 2015. “The only thing [that separates] us is our service.”

A constant presence on the shop floor, Wasserman was eager to share his lessons with anybody who walked through Tip Top’s doors. “When Danny talked, people listened,” Lester said. Whether he was talking about hot product and trends or markdowns and inventory flow, Mr. Wasserman wasn’t bashful, his son said.

Wasserman was immensely proud that Lester and daughter Margot, the children’s shoe buyer, decided to follow in his footsteps and become co-owners. Together, the family expanded into the kids’ business with a standalone store that opened in 1988 and opened a sneaker boutique, West, in 2007.

Margot Wasserman remembered the daily texts she and her father exchanged about “everything and nothing.” Topics ranged from reordering the right shoes, “especially socks and inserts,” discussing the latest TV shows and what they had for dinner.

One important lesson that Wasserman taught his kids and many others about the shoe business: “If something is unique, it will have legs.”

At trade shows, Wasserman walked the halls from morning to night, often with an entourage in tow. “He wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Lester said on Sunday.

Wasserman took great pride in his ability to spot new brands and emerging industry trends.

“We were one of the first to have Ugg Australia and one of the first in the Northeast to carry Birkenstock. I also recognized MBT, Kork-Ease, Sbicca huaraches and Jacques Cohen espadrilles,” he told FN in 2015.

Industry players reached on Sunday remembered Wasserman as one of a kind.

“I’ve known him all my life. He was a friend, a father and mentor to me. He was the best teacher anyone could be,” said Tarek Hassan, CEO of Concepts, who recalled attending countless shows and buying appointments under the tutelage of Mr. Wasserman. “He lived the business. He understood people, product and brands. He had an incredible eye. There’s only one Danny.”

David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas, said Wasserman — who had German roots — was one of the brand’s first accounts.

“He loved to recount his history with Margot Fraser and Karl Birkenstock. He took a chance on the brand when no one else carried it,” Kahan said. “He literally brought it to NYC and put tens of thousands of local New Yorkers and tourists into our products, including many regular celebrity clients. He even sold Yoko Ono a pair she got for John Lennon. Even when COVID shut down NYC retail, he and Lester set up a table outside the store and sold Birkenstocks one at a time to passers by.”

Kahan and Wasserman developed a close friendship through the years. “I consider him a true mentor in the industry. I don’t think a week has gone by in 20 years that I didn’t talk or text with him multiple times,” Kahan said.

Wasserman is survived by his wife, Carol; children Lester and Margot; and three grandchildren.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Riverside Funeral Home in New York. Shiva will be observed during select hours Tuesday through Thursday at Margot and Lester’s residences. Email Lester Wasserman at lwasser579@mac.com for more details.