Deepica Mutyala and Lauren Chan lend their voices as the first women to join the collective

Naturalizer, a lead brand in the Caleres (NYSE: CAL) portfolio, debuts its global inclusivity ambassador collective with founding members Deepica Mutyala and Lauren Chan. This collective propels the brand’s nearly 100-year commitment to creating a more comfortable future for women by designing shoes to the contours of a woman’s foot. Naturalizer continues its focus on representation and size access for every woman to feel seen in fashion.

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Deepica Mutyala, founder of Live Tinted, and Lauren Chan, model, entrepreneur and inclusivity advocate, are founding members of Naturalizer's global inclusivity ambassador collective. The collective is part of the brand's commitment to women by focusing on representation and size access for every woman to be seen in fashion. (Photo: Business Wire)

The mission of the ambassador collective is to amplify Naturalizer’s female-first vision, generating meaningful and deep conversations around advancing inclusivity in fashion. The first two collective members, Mutyala and Chan, will bring that narrative forward through their combined power and reach alongside a digital campaign and event series that will unfold over the next 12 months and kick off in September. Naturalizer has partnered with the Confident Collective to lead live, in-person, conversations coast to coast, which will air on the podcast, featuring Mutyala and Chan on changing the narrative around inclusivity in fashion with press and community events in New York and Los Angeles. Both women, and future additions to the collective, are authentic champions of inclusivity.

Mutyala, founder of beauty brand Live Tinted, said, “If it doesn’t feel like I’m making a difference in the world, I don’t want to do it. This feels genuine and purposeful to my goals. I hope we're leading by example to show other brands that inclusivity is important to spotlight so that one day we don't even have to have these conversations. It's just the norm in society.”

Chan, model, entrepreneur and inclusivity advocate, said, “My career has been spent trying to make the world a better place for people who have been marginalized through fashion. And I’m still fighting tooth and nail to be included, to make space for other women when I get included. To me, inclusivity will be reached when all kinds of people see themselves reflected in the culture, whether that's through brands or media. And I feel like here we're doing our part to make that happen.”

Naturalizer innovates products through a lens of both style and inclusivity. The brand identified and solved a friction point for women in tall shaft boots by revolutionizing fit with the introduction of Contoured Calf technology. Its largest collection ever comes in a range of styles and sizes from 5M-12XW, plus extended calf sizing in narrow, medium, wide and extra wide.

Cal Lab, the Caleres team driving breakthroughs in product, design and fit across the portfolio, held an insights study of over 500 wide-calf consumers and identified frustration in finding fashion-forward styles with the right fit. To solve the problems of gapping and fluting often associated with narrow and wide-calf boots, the team had to change how the boots are made, creating new molds based on the measurements from 170 women.

The new Contoured Calf Collection will be supported by a dedicated campaign that features Chan and other thought leaders, titled ‘United in Fashion’ - uniting women from narrow to extra wide width with each woman sharing their voice in provoking greater access to fashion that fits more women. Participating women include CeCe Olissa (founder of CurvyCon), Elizabetta Dessy (model and former Olympic swimmer), and Khrystyana (body inclusivity champion and creator of Real Catwalk). The campaign takes shape as a movement, inspiring others to join the conversation and be change-makers working toward more accessible fashion for all.

Natelle Baddeley, chief product officer, Brand Portfolio, Caleres, said, “We credit our longevity to the discipline of constant cultural evolution against a very singular brand promise. The more voices we can include in the conversations, the bigger impact we can make. Being synonymous with inclusivity is authentic to the very nature of who we are and have always been. Comfort for all is what inspires us. We believe this brand promise resonates with every woman.”

Be a part of Naturalizer’s change-making season ahead as a range of initiatives championed by the collective bring the brand’s mission to life at Naturalizer.com and on Instagram at @naturalizer.

ABOUT NATURALIZER

Naturalizer put women first, first. We were the first brand to ever design shoes to the contours of a woman’s foot in 1927. Inclusive then. Inclusive now. We are perpetually inspired to bring every woman the perfect shoe. In her perfect size, style and fit. www.naturalizer.com

ABOUT CALERES

Caleres is a market-leading portfolio of global footwear brands that includes Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds, Naturalizer and Vionic. Our products are available virtually everywhere - in the nearly 1,000 retail stores we operate, in hundreds of major department and specialty stores, on our branded e-commerce sites, and on many additional third-party retail websites. Combined, these brands make Caleres a company with both a legacy and a mission. Our legacy is our more than 140 years of craftsmanship and our passion for fit, while our mission is to continue to inspire people to feel great… feet first. Visit caleres.com to learn more about us.

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