“I design heels for women who want to stand taller, take up space, and be impossible to ignore.”
— Ruthie Davis

Ruthie Davis is an award-winning footwear designer, entrepreneur, and founder of the luxury footwear brand Ruthie Davis®, known for bold, architectural heels that empower women to stand tall, stand strong, take up space, and stand out.

Guided by her signature philosophy “Height. Presence. Power.”, Davis approaches each shoe as a work of architectural design—balancing striking silhouettes with chic, modern, and wearable style. As one of the few female founders designing high heels specifically to empower women, her designs combine dramatic elevation with confidence, strength, and unmistakable presence.

A member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and recipient of the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s Designer of the Year, Davis launched her eponymous brand in 2006 after holding executive roles at Reebok, UGG, and Tommy Hilfiger. Today, the brand is sold globally through a direct-to-consumer model at ruthiedavis.com, supported by a vibrant global community of more than 800,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Over the course of her career, Davis has received numerous fashion and entrepreneurship awards including AAFA’s Designer of the Year, the American Image Award for “Collaboration of the Year” for Disney x Ruthie Davis, WGSN’s Global Fashion Collaboration Award, and recognition as one of Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. She has also been named one of Footwear News’ “20 Directional Design Stars” and recognized as one of Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Talents.”

A trailblazer in fashion collaborations, Davis has partnered with global brands and entertainment franchises including Disney, Universal Illumination’s Minions, Swarovski, HSN, and John Bartlett. The acclaimed Disney x Ruthie Davis collections created alongside major film releases including Aladdin, Frozen 2, and Mulan, earned the AAFA American Image Award for Collaboration of the Year.

Her designs have become favorites of global celebrities and cultural icons including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Halsey, and Cardi B, as well as Naomi Campbell, Halle Berry, Kendall Jenner, Laverne Cox, Madison Beer, Billy Porter, and world-class athletes Lindsey Vonn and Alex Morgan.

Beyond fashion, Davis is deeply committed to mentorship and education. She has collaborated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan on an educational footwear design program where students developed a shoe from concept to production, with proceeds supporting the organization. She regularly lectures at leading institutions including MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Parsons School of Design, FIT, and the University of Delaware, mentoring the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs.

Davis holds a BA in English and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College’s Olin Graduate School of Business, where she was inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. She is also a frequent media commentator appearing on outlets including Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox News, CBS News, NBC, Bravo, E!, Yahoo Finance, and The New York Times.

Through her work as a designer, entrepreneur, educator, and speaker, Ruthie Davis continues to champion a new generation of independent designer-led micro-brands built on creativity, ownership, and profitability.

Height. Presence. Power.

At the heart of Ruthie Davis® is a simple but powerful philosophy: Height. Presence. Power.

Height represents ambition—the courage to dream big and rise above expectations.
Presence reflects confidence—the ability to command attention the moment you enter a room.
Power is the ultimate goal—helping women feel strong, fearless, and unapologetically themselves.

Every Ruthie Davis design is created with this mindset. From sculptural platforms to striking stilettos, each shoe is engineered not only to elevate height, but to elevate confidence.

Because great heels don’t just change how you look.
They change how you stand, how you move, and how you show up in the world.