New Style Idea

After launching a shoe dust bag drive that transformed often discarded covers into face masks this summer, emerging brand Sylven New York’s latest initiative, The ReBoot, tackles yet another waste issue accumulated by the footwear industry.

Stories of fashion and footwear brands discarding items from season’s past or those with slight imperfections have raised a red flag in recent years. Back in 2018, word of Burberry burning up $36.8 million worth of their own merchandise showed how even luxury brands operate on an unsustainable, fast fashion cycle. Sustainable brands are not immune to this issue either as Casey Dworkin, the creative director and founder of Sylven New York, soon found out when her eco-conscious luxury footwear brand started to rack up waste.

“If something has the tiniest scuff on the sole from a photoshoot or fashion show, you can’t sell it as a new product as an e-commerce brand,” said Dworkin. “As someone who is so specific about minimizing waste in my production cycle, I wanted to find a way how I could fight this common industry problem. You can’t truly be a sustainable brand and be wasteful.”

So she decided to launch The ReBoot, a new category on Sylven New York’s site that features gently worn styles and unreleased models shoppers can now access by signing up with their email online. 

Boots, sandals and slip-on shoes made from sustainably-sourced luxury materials such as apple leather, vegan leather and naturally dyed leather can all be found on The ReBoot portal on sylvennewyork.com for $225-$325.

To Buy: Sylven New York The Almasi Boot from the ReBoot, $300 (Was $450).  

“The ReBoot goes beyond the average sample sale model that brands typically do. We’re giving these styles a second life and celebrating the imperfections” Dworkin said.

Dworkin has curated The ReBoot portal to include The Almasi Boot, a style that was featured on the runway during last year’s Barcelona Fashion Week as well as shoes that fell short on approval in the final stages of production.

To Buy: Sylven New York Sage Blush Vegan Nappa Leather Sandal from the ReBoot, $225 (Was $325).

Dworkin also added that when shoppers sign up with an email online for The ReBoot portal, they also become part of the Sylven New York community. This includes access to the brand’s monthly newsletter as well as other announcements about Sylven New York’s mission to embrace sustainability and style.

New, seasonless styles plan to be added monthly to The ReBoot portal. To sign up visit sylvennewyork.com/reboot.