Candice Ulmer

For Not Rated’s Candice Ulmer, it’s not hard to figure out what young women want in their shoes. Why? She is her consumer. The 24-year-old designer revels in designing shoes for girls just like herself. “Being young and working for this area in the market is more beneficial to me, because I think I have a closer connection with the girls, with my consumer,” Ulmer tells WSAToday.com. “Basically, I shop where they shop; I hang out at the bars that they go to; I hang out at the same shows.” Next spring’s trends, says Ulmer, travel back to her childhood comfort zone—totally ’80s. We recently asked her what other trends she saw on the horizon and what it’s been like to step into the industry at such a young age. Below is an extended, Web-only version of our exclusive interview, which first appeared in the December 2007 issue of WSAToday.

What are some of your biggest challenges as a young designer?

Not only that I am young, but that I look young. People are intimidated by me sometimes. I know a lot for my age. Sometimes people always think that the older you are, the wiser you are. It’s about the work experience that you’ve had and the knowledge you’ve absorbed. Once they start working with me, though, they know that I know what I’m talking about.

What’s happening with your new spring ’08 collection? Can you describe it for us? Is there a standout style?

For spring, the ’80s influence is still strong. One of the trends is what I call the “Candy Shop”—it’s young, full of energy, it’s girly. Heels are the shape of a waffle cone. There’s a little bit of shimmer in it with the pastels. You would think of every color in the rainbow. In spring ’08, there’s going to be no lack of color. If you want a specific color, you can find it. We just want to keep the silhouettes young and open. Also a big influence for fashion is streetwear. Designers are even looking toward streetwear for their silhouettes. The way that they deal with graphics is very innovative and you can take their detailing and put it on a fashion construction—it’s a big winner.

One of my styles right now that’s working really well is called Juicy. It’s the ’80s-type influence. I mixed a vinyl upper with a mix of neon colors. It works with the younger market, because it’s an understandable construction. It has a cone-shaped heel. I incorporated the trend of vinyl and neon. I didn’t use the normal cut-out either; I used the square cut-out—something different to make it young and understandable, because you don’t want to go to crazy.

Honey Bee, from the new spring '08 collection

What were your design inspirations for spring ’08?

Definitely the ’80s pop culture—graffiti prints, neon, vinyl. It’s also sport-influenced. I mixed mesh and different materials and put it on a high heel. Also I had a trend that I call “School Days.” Basically the silhouettes are shoes that I wore when I was in grade school. I took those silhouettes and put them on an updated last. I use every color in the rainbow—from bright brights to neons and pastels. I kept it really girly, young, fast and fresh.

What are buyers and retailers telling you?

At the shows, I present the line to them and get their feedback. Overall, the No. 1 comment I get is that I’m offering them something innovative and fresh—products and trends they haven’t seen anywhere else. If they want something that’s unseen, they know to come to Not Rated. We’re also consistent. Every season they can trust that we’ll be bringing them the newest and the freshest.

Who is the Not Rated customer?

She’s a young girl just finishing high school or entering college. She is very eclectic when it comes to trends. She loves music, she loves fashion and she pays very good attention to what’s going on in designer trends, but she might not have the money or budget to afford them. What we do at Not Rated is offer girls that designer look without the high cost. She could go to school and a concert wearing our shoes. This girl doesn’t want basics. She wants something fun she can wear to school and wow all her classmates, or wear it to a show or concert and be the hot one there. This girl doesn’t want to be the basic, understandable girl. She wants something fun. Basically, she just wants something different and stylish and fun and fast. It’s tricky for her, because it is kind of an item business. You want to offer the fast, latest items but you also want to make sure it lasts for the next six months.

Suit Up, from the current fall '07 collection

What other designers do you admire?

Betsey Johnson. I love her flair. You can really feel her energy in every garment and shoe that she and her company design. I know if I want something punky and cute I can always go to her. You can feel her love of life just through her product.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

Sometimes I wish fashion cycles were faster. Basically, when I’m working on the line sometimes it doesn’t go fast enough and you can get bored easily. Working in the industry we see things come and go more quickly than the consumer would. When I want people to be on the next trend, I have to wait 6 months to see it on people.

What trends are you predicting for fall ’08?

I definitely think since we’ve had a lot of mixed media in the past year that it’s going to clean up a bit. We’ve been successful with the mixed media trend but we’re going to go into color blocking and color textures. For fall, people shouldn’t be afraid of mixing colors. Brights will be there but toned down a bit; a darker shade of the brights.

As proven by spring ’07, Not Rated isn’t afraid of color. I feel just because it’s fall, I refuse to surrender to the basics of the blacks and browns. I’ve taken note from our success with brights from spring ’07 and have transformed the colors into more richer, saturated jeweled tones. Fall ’08 styles will be playfully adorned with the use of zippers, ruffles and acrylic ornaments; constructions will also be heavier and solid to accommodate for the cool fall/winter months. We will also continue growth of our vulcanized package based on the great successes we’ve had so far.

  More Expert Opinion Articles