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Ten years ago, CEO and Founder Marc Fisher identified a glaring gap in the footwear market for high-quality, accessible contemporary shoes for style-conscious women. It was at that moment that the idea behind Marc Fisher LTD — a standalone brand within Marc Fisher Footwear — was born. 

“Looking back, it’s almost unbelievable what we built with a small, dedicated team and a tightly focused marketing budget,” says founder Marc Fisher. “We relied on the product — its quality, style and functionality — to speak for itself. And the support of our influencer community and wholesale partners to help bring it to life in a big way.”

Staying power in a fast-moving industry is no accident. According to Amanda Fisher, Marc’s daughter and EVP of design, the key has been consistency and integrity.

“In an industry where trends move fast, we’ve stayed grounded in our core values,” Amanda shares. “That long-term thinking has helped us build real brand loyalty. Our customer knows we’ll always deliver wearable trends and versatility in every shoe we produce.”

With deep expertise in sourcing and production, Marc Fisher LTD has consistently delivered luxury-level materials and construction at an accessible price point. 

A decade later, Marc Fisher LTD has grown into something much bigger and better than the Fishers could’ve imagined: It has featured models such as Karlie Kloss and Chanel Iman in its campaigns and it has developed bestselling styles, including the Zala Pump and Lannie-to-the-Knee-Boot. 

The brand’s growth has been shaped by a strong influencer and community strategy, driven by the Style Marc Sqaud — a collective of diverse, trend-setting women who bring the brand to life in real settings. Social media also powers the brand’s “Make Your Marc” program, spotlighting female founders and empowering women through storytelling. Beyond marketing, feedback from consumers has actively shaped design decisions—from fit improvements to the revival of cult-favorite styles.

It speaks volumes that, even amid market challenges like tariffs, geopolitical tensions and shifting consumer behaviors, Marc Fisher LTD has not only weathered the storm, but also remained a leading player in the market. Now, the Fishers are focused on continuing the momentum they’ve built over the years.

Ahead, Marc and Amanda talk celebrating Marc Fisher LTD’s 10-year anniversary, standing out in a competitive industry, navigating fashion’s ultra-fast trend cycle and more.

Marc Fisher LTD is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Looking back, what inspired you to launch the brand in the first place?

Marc Fisher: We wanted to make fashionable, contemporary shoes for women 30-to-50 that are high quality and have one design perspective — which is casual-chic. 

Amanda Fisher: We found that there was a small gap in the market for high-luxe, high-quality [shoes] at a reasonable price point. When people wear our shoes and are loyal customers, they appreciate how comfortable our shoes [are], how nice the leather is, how long they last and how many seasons they can wear them through.

Marc Fisher LTD is known for its ‘casual luxe’ designs. How do you define that term?

AF: I think it means you’re understated — you’re not trying too hard, but you’re intentional. It’s relaxed, yet polished and chic. It’s following trends, but focusing on wearability. Our casual luxe shoes can be worn with many different looks. […] We wanted to design for the woman that does it all and looks for elevated designs with everyday versatility.

The industry is dealing with an ultra-accelerated trend cycle. How much does the brand hop on trend-driven styles versus prioritizing its core staples?

AF: I think we actually have an advantage here because we have so many brands under our company. We take relevant trends that we see make sense for a certain customer and fit them into our product pillars. We know what the limitations are with each customer, and how trendy she wants to go.

She wants to wear her shoes on repeat and places a high priority on quality. Right now we’re building our line for next winter, and of course we’re following trends, but we’re doing it in a way that is refined, chic and cool for our girl.

How have influencers and online consumer feedback impacted Marc Fisher LTD’s visibility and growth?

AF: Our influencer community has helped us become really successful. We have our Style Marc Squad, who have been loyal influencers from inception. They get sneak peeks, first dibs on partnerships and have priority selection on gifting. Additionally, our Make Your Marc program shines a spotlight on successful women and their impressive achievements in their fields. Seeing such accomplished female business owners doing it all and wearing our shoes is a dream come true. We’ve had a lot of success within the influencer community. Without that, we wouldn’t be where we are because we aren’t a company that invests heavily in a big marketing budget. So we do rely on our influencer community to build us up and show people who we are.

Looking back at all you accomplished with Marc Fisher LTD, how have your goals for the brand evolved over the years?

AF: We have never compromised on our original goal of creating a line that has amazing value and great quality. That is our true staying power, which has stayed consistent throughout the last 10 years. The only thing that was fluid at the beginning is trying to find and later understand our customer. In the beginning, we tried to give her all the silhouettes and experiment with trends. Now that we know our girl, we’ve been able to focus our design aesthetic into the categories and trends that we know our customer looks to us for.

MF: We have a small but amazing team behind this brand from product development and sales to marketing and PR. Together, we aligned on making luxurious products that intersect style and versatility, with strong value and we will continue to do that.

What have been some of the biggest highlights since launching the brand?

AF: We are proud that we’ve gotten into so many doors, especially across Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. We’ve also built a bigger online presence. We’re happy that we’ve survived everything that’s happened in the last 10 years, to be honest — from Covid to tariffs and everything before that. There’s been a lot of hurdles to get through, and so to survive it all is an accomplishment.

We just want to keep pushing. We want to expand our digital footprint. We obviously always want to grow.

MF: It makes me happy to know that we are doing something right because it’s a crazy world we live in. But we really work hard trying to make nice things that hopefully you’re going to be comfortable in and you’re going to feel good wearing it to work or to a party or just out with your friends for dinner.

What have you found to be the key to building a brand with staying power, especially amid a crowded and competitive market?

MF: You got to really work hard. You got to try hard. You got to go into work every day with an open mind, and you always have to try to do a better job. That’s the goal with me. We thrive on always trying to do better and to stay relevant in the market. Also, stay true to your brand DNA; staying centered on the casual luxe vibe for this brand has allowed us to be laser-focused on design.

AF: And don’t take shortcuts. The brands that start taking the shortcuts, when the customer starts to see the quality go down or things not looking good, that’s when things go bad. […] We’ve had our setbacks; sometimes our trends come too early and our girl isn’t interested until a year later, but we just have to try again and not give up on it. We just stay true to exactly who we are, learn from our mistakes and keep trying to make better product.

What do the next 10 years look like for Marc Fisher LTD?

MF: We hope that we become bigger, better and hopefully we stay healthy. We’ve got to have fun, make nice shoes and hope that the business grows.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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