RUTHIE DAVIS offers more than fashion and footwear, she offers a lifestyle that embodies the brand DNA that has been so carefully crafted over the years: to stand out, stand tall, to set trends yet stay timeless. As a CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) member and an AAFA’s (American Apparel & Footwear Association) “Designer of the Year,” Davis designs footwear that is far from conventional. Every shoe is a piece of architectural art, all while staying true to the chic, modern and sporty designs that women worldwide have fallen for. Residing in New York City and President of her eponymous brand, Davis has the advantage of being a designer with an MBA and a woman who designs to empower women. 

After graduating from Loomis Chaffee Cum Laude, Davis earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College. She went on to earn an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson’s Olin Graduate School of Business, where she has been inducted into their “Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.” Davis honed her design and marketing skills by holding executive positions at Reebok, UGG Australia and Tommy Hilfiger before launching Ruthie Davis® in 2006. Today, the Ruthie Davis® brand is sold to women across the globe direct-to-consumer at ruthiedavis.com.

A trailblazer in the realm of collaborations, Davis has 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.”

She has 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 she launched her 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 go to BGC of Detroit. The designer’s cutting-edge vision has awarded her 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, she has 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.”

Davis ensures unparalleled quality and craftsmanship every step of the way. Her custom designs have grown to be the top choice of celebrities, ranging from A-listers like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Ariana Grande, Mary J Blige and Demi Lovato, 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 her company, Davis serves 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. She is 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.  She is a recurring guest lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and NYU Stern Business School.  She taught a course on footwear design at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and is doing the same at the University of Delaware. She consistently dedicates time to mentoring emerging designers and entrepreneurs individually and also by speaking at colleges, business schools and design schools, but her message is always the same that anyone can, “Find your passion, work hard and live your dreams.”