Red Wing, Minn. – December 11, 2023) – Vasque Footwear, with nearly 60 years of experience delivering functional, durable footwear to millions of outdoor enthusiasts, is pleased to announce the expansion of its product department with the hire of Austyn Dunham as product developer. Dunham joins a team of footwear industry veterans, tasked with ushering in an entirely new chapter of growth for the brand.
As Product Developer, Dunham leads all footwear development for the brand. She is responsible for taking design intent, managing the construction, collaborating with the suppliers and manufacturers to make each design come to life, and ultimately ensuring it functions in the way it was intended.
Dunham boasts more than 13 years in product creation starting at Target Corporation, where she worked with large volumes of styles in apparel and footwear in all categories. Recently, Dunham led a design consulting team at Gravity Sketch, a software company providing global brands with 3D integration to enhance footwear product design and development.
“Being an avid outdoor enthusiast, a big part of taking this role at Vasque was the opportunity to work on outdoor performance footwear,” said Dunham. “The space is full of new ideas and innovations to enhance hiking performance, and I am very excited to bring them to life with our brand in new ways.”
Dunham joins Jes Sandrin and Scott Kendall on the product team, who both came to Vasque in the last two years. Sandrin as Product Line Merchant and Kendall as Footwear Designer. With experience at Red Wing Shoe Company and Michael Kors, Sandrin owns product category strategy, selecting a core set of products to drive growth. Kendall is a proven industry veteran, with more than 25 years of footwear design experience at brands such as New Balance, Wilson and Puma. At Vasque, he’s been tasked with modernizing the brand’s design language, driving a move towards more sustainable materials and creating product designs that appeal to both the traditional hiker and a new, more athletic and lifestyle-minded outdoor consumer.
“In the past three years our product team has changed dramatically,” said Amy Peck, Director of Vasque Product Creation. “The organization has invested in bringing diverse backgrounds from footwear and retail, giving us a breadth of capabilities we hadn’t had previously. Starting this fall with the launch of our all-new Re:connect family, customers and consumers will begin to see a shift in the product we bring forward. It will still harken to the fundamentals of our brand – quality, fit and finish – but will be much more in line with the innovation and stylistic preferences of our consumers.”
About Vasque: Vasque Footwear has delivered functional, durable footwear to millions of outdoor enthusiasts since 1964. We believe that you don’t have to go far to change your perspective. By simply stepping outside we can change how we feel on the inside. When we disconnect, we reconnect. Vasque Footwear – Trail Footwear Since 1964. Visit us at Vasque.com
