Rollie
The vibrancy of Rollie’s three distinctly colourful designs blends fashion and practicality. fluoro spoke to Vince Lebon, director and designer of Rollie, about the joyous nature of Rollie, why colour is so important to his brand and more.
(f) Which niche of the shoe market do you see Rollie filling?
(VL) Rollies are shoes for everyone with a fun attitude to life, and the young at heart, no matter what age you are. We have had the young, the old, the cool and the play-it-safe people, fall in love with Rollies. And with the future expansion of new colours and materials we hope it will penetrate even further into the markets and become a part of people’s everyday life.
(f) Your pop-up store is only in existence for three weeks. Is this type of retail the way of the future?
(VL) The retail industry has changed dramatically over the past few years, due to the combination of the GFC, the strong Australian dollar and market expectance of pop-up stores and booming online sales. You now have to work harder to position yourself in the market as we are now in competition against the global market. Pop up stores allow you to create a buzz, build a cult following and compete against major chains without the overheads. Due to the overwhelming response we have extended our pop-up store for another three weeks. You can sign up to our facebook page to see where we’ll be next!
(f) Black is so prominent these days in clothing. Did you create Rollies in super bright colours to cut through and make an impact?
(VL) Totally! Rollies allow you to express yourself. They add colour to your everyday wardrobe so you don’t get stuck in a boring everyday routine that life can sometimes create.
(f) Your designs seem to favour practicality and fashion in equal measure. How did you make your shoes reflect both these concepts equally?
(VL) The whole brand has been build around this concept. After nine years in the industry and working very closely with international brands I tried to capture the essence of simplicity, practicality and fashionableness.
(f) You currently have three styles of shoe – Boxer, Chukka and Derby. Where do you see Rollie moving to in the future?
(VL) We are currently working on the Chelsea boot, Ballerina and Mary Jane. And we are really exciting about launching the kid’s ranges in the next couple of months.
