RUTHIE DAVIS offers more than fashion and footwear, I offer a lifestyle that embodies the brand DNA that I have so carefully crafted over the years: to stand stand tall, stand strong and stand out, setting trends yet staying timeless. As a proud CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) member and an AAFA’s (American Apparel & Footwear Association) “Designer of the Year,” I design footwear that is far from conventional.  I approach every shoe as a piece of architectural art, all while staying true to the chic, modern and sporty wearable designs that women worldwide covet.  Residing in New York City as Founder, President and Designer of my eponymous brand, I have the advantage of being the rare designer with an MBA and a woman designing to empower other women. 

After graduating from the Loomis Chaffee School Cum Laude, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in English and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College, graduating with honors on the Dean's list.  I then earned an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson’s Olin Graduate School of Business, where I was honored to be inducted into their “Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.” I then honed my design and marketing skills by holding executive positions at Reebok, UGG Australia and Tommy Hilfiger before launching Ruthie Davis® in 2006. Today, my Ruthie Davis® brand is sold to women across the globe direct-to-consumer at ruthiedavis.com. The brand also has a strong community and fans with over 400k Instagram, 150k TikTok and 100k Facebook followers.

A trailblazer in the realm of collaborations, I recently partnered with Disney on the notable Disney x Ruthie Davis shoe collections in tandem with the Disney film releases for Aladdin, Frozen 2 and the live action version of Mulan in addition to Snow White and Cinderella Anniversary Collections.  This popular collaboration was recently honored by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) with the 2019 American Image Award for “Collaboration of the Year.”

I also worked with Universal Illumination on a Ruthie Davis x Minions collection, Swarovski on a capsule collection, HSN on their Disney “Beauty and the Beast” Event, Ruthie Davis X John Bartlett on a vegan capsule and Designow on her first apparel collection. In 2022 I launched a collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Detroit, Ruthie Davis X BGCSM - this was an “educational collaboration” where the students took a shoe from concept through production and selling – 100% of proceeds went to the B&GC of Detroit.  With a cutting-edge vision, I was awarded for several accolades, including the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s 2014 “Designer of the Year” award and 2019 “Collaboration of the Year” award, FashInvest’s 2016 “Fashpreneur” award, WGSN’s Global Fashion Collaboration of 2015 Nominee and Babson’s 2015 “Entrepreneur Hall of Fame” award. Year after year, I have also been named one of Footwear News’ “20 Directional Design Stars,” in 2012 was noted as one of Vogue Italia’s top “Vogue Talents,” and one of Goldman Sachs’ “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.”

I ensure unparalleled quality and craftsmanship every step of my way. My edgy stand-out designs have grown to be the top choice of celebrities, ranging from A-listers performers like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Ariana Grande, Halsey and Demi Lovato, to top-tier supermodels, influencers and actresses like Naomi Campbell, Halle Berry, Kendall Jenner, Laverne Cox, Madison Beer and Billy Porter, and world class athletes like Lindsey Vonn and Alex Morgan.

In addition to overseeing the operation of my brand and company, I serve as a television and podcast fashion expert with regular spots on Bravo, E!, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox News, CBS News, Yahoo Finance, NBC, Empowerography podcast among others.  I am involved with various organizations including being an elected member of the University of Delaware Arts and Science’s “Fashion Advisory Board,” the Loomis Chaffee “Head Council,” the New Britain Museum of American Art “Education Committee” and CFDA Scholarship Program Selection Committee.  I am a recurring guest lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and NYU Stern Business School.  I taught a course on footwear design at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and at the University of Delaware.  In addition, I consistently dedicate time to mentoring emerging designers and entrepreneurs individually and also by speaking at high schools, colleges, business and design schools and my message is always the same that anyone can, “find your passion, work hard and live your dreams.”