Bridging Ethical Manufacturing To Luxury Performance With Koio

Photo Credit: Koio

Written in partnership with Thomas Herd 

On its head, it seems hard to reconcile luxury aesthetics with ethical manufacturing. In fact, until recently, manufacturers would have considered the two ideals to exist at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Yet, today, with growing insistence from socially conscious millennial consumers for full transparency as well as uncompromised performance, a solution for this conundrum has never been more paramount to market success.

Photo Credit: Koio

One breakthrough brand that’s been able to rise to the occasion is Koio [Koy-Oh]. Founded in 2015 by Wharton Alums Johannes Quodt and Chris Wichert Koio distinguishes itself by molding the highest quality, ethically sourced Italian leather into a distinctive luxury aesthetic that can be sold to millennials at an accessible price tag.

Their new shoe, the fashion runner Avalanche, has been heralded by a wide range of fashion arbiters as offering highest quality vs. price ratio on the market. Riding a cultural movement that grows daily with more than 50 Instagram endorsements dropping from top-tier fashion icons like Myles O Neal and Shaun Ross, Koio has risen itself to prominence in Q4 2018 and proved beyond a reasonable doubt that millennials ‘divering’ tastes can be fulfilled by a single design.

Photo Credit: Koio

Now as Koio’s retail operation starts to rapidly expand from New York to Los Angeles (Koio just launched a new retail location on Abbot Kinney in Venice) millennials nationwide will have a new accessible choice that is both validated by the fashion world and is custom crafted to suit their unique interests. In light of this, it should be no surprise to see Koio soon become the new flag bearer for our age in the luxury shoe market.

Photo Credit: Koio