The Go To Choice of Icons.

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The Go To Choice of Icons.

Kate Moss, Johnny Cash, Gregory Peck, Kings of Leon, Jamie Foxx, Carrie Mulligan, John Wayne—aside from all being superstars in their own right, it would appear that these individuals might not have much in common.

Wrong. They all happen to have the same bootmaker: Lucchese. That’s a name that needs no explaining to people in Texas, where the 130-year-old cowboy boot brand has its roots. “When people want the finest boots they can get, they come to Lucchese,” says the label’s creative director, William Zeitz. In its early years, Lucchese was entrusted as the main purveyor of cavalry boots for the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston. Since then, a host of U.S presidents, rock stars, actors and actresses have also become fans. That group is likely to quickly expand with the label's latest initiative.

Lucchese has at last expanded beyond its westernwear and applied its expertise in shoe craftsmanship to new categories. They’ve just recently launched more fashion-forward footwear, including pumps, sandals, and oxfords, made of super luxe materials like crocodile, python, and ostrich. In August, they’re set to unveil handbags and leather accessories as well. (We have a sneak preview of the goods, here.) The handbags are impressive—easy silhouettes that make for the perfect work carryall, in rich, classic colors.

“We see ourselves as an American luxury brand,” says Zeitz. “We want to be positioned next to European luxury brands like, ideally, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. There are very few American luxury brands left.”

Up next, they’re ready to expand their brick-and-mortar stores in the coming years. “We don’t have a NYC store yet, but that’s definitely on the horizon,” says Zeitz. In the meantime, Spring items are available on the web site, lucchese.com.

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Lucchese Steps Out

Lucchese Overlay Pump

Lucchese Overlay Pump

by HOLLY HABER

photographs by ADAM FISH

What Texas company has employed a prestigious New York design firm, is running spring ads in Vogue, W, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and GQ and has a design and marketing office in Dallas? The answer is Lucchese. The 131-year-old bootmaker is on a serious quest to become a luxury lifestyle brand, and it is being propelled by $5 million from Dallas private-equity kingpin John Muse. This month marks a big step: the introduction of fashion footwear for men and women.

“For a long time people have been telling us they want Lucchese for other parts of their lives,” says William “Bill” Zeitz, the soft-spoken veteran of Nike and Cole Haan who is masterminding the reinvention as creative director and executive vice president of marketing.

Started in San Antonio by Sam Lucchese, an immigrant Italian shoemaker whose first clients were cavalry officers, the company is known for premium Western boots handcrafted in an El Paso factory that still uses the proprietary twisted cone last that the founder developed for ideal fit. Combine all that with a celebrity following that dates back to Gregory Peck, and Lucchese has a rich American heritage that is ripe for exploitation. The new fashion collection launches on lucchese.com this month with 45 styles, from python booties and appliquéd leather pumps for women to distressed oxfords and two-tone chukkas for men. Priced from $500 to $5,000, the boots are made in the El Paso factory, the shoes in Italy. They were styled by Banfi Zambrelli Design Studio, which lists edgy Derek Lam and refined Marchesa among its clients. Next up is a fall collection of leather handbags, totes and weekenders stitched in Italian workshops. Clothing is a couple of years down the road, assuming everything else is on track. “Every facet has to be done incredibly well,” Zeitz says. “The experience with the brand has to be perfect.”

None of this would be happening if John Muse hadn’t co-acquired the company in 1997 and later assumed a majority stake. “I’m very passionate about the brand, not just for the typical investment reasons, but because it fits my lifestyle,” he says. “I live a smart-casual lifestyle.” Muse forecasts the company growing from $75 million in 2014 sales to more than $300 million within five years. After all, his early investments in Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors have paid off handsomely. “I’ve seen how to do it and do it properly, and not just be a wholesale manufacturer but also control some of your own distribution by having your own retail and e-commerce,” he says.

And your own world-class polo team. Team Lucchese boasts a stack of trophies, and Muse is a devout player who competes with the best — who are typically less than half his age. “It’s the strongest dose of adrenaline you can imagine getting,” he says. Muse even shepherded Lucchese’s development of polo boots, which took a couple of years to perfect, and has more equestrian styles in the works: “I kept saying, ‘You need to think “construction site” here — thicker soles, more padding, a toe that won’t crumple — they need to take a ball going 90 miles an hour.’”

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