How Kid’s Shoe Line Dezzys Launched

Devyn Taylor is bringing a little kick to the children’s sneaker market.

After nine years working behind the scenes in production and sourcing at such companies as Coach and Marc Fisher, the mom of two decided to strike out on her own and launch Dezzys, a fashion-driven collection distinguished by its bright colors and playful prints. “I struggled when shopping for my own two children to find styles that fit the trends and outfits they wear,” Taylor said. “So many of the sneakers are just takedowns of adult shoes, and those don’t always appeal to kids. I wanted to create styles that are fun and exciting for kids while still being cool and attractive to their parents.”

dezzys, kids sneakers — These high-top sneakers are detailed with a ‘melted ice cream’ print effect.

CREDIT: Courtesy of brand

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Taylor got her 2-year-old brand off the ground with a Kickstarter campaign in early 2017 and has built a growing following of retailers including independents and websites such as Chasing Fireflies and Zappos, which added the $35–$42 collection to its roster last fall. “We’ve had a great response so far,” she said. “We seem to have hit on something that is really lacking in the market.”

As the business began to take off, Taylor brought in designer-partner, friend and former coworker Stephanie Belov to help bring her ideas to life. This spring, the two will add a collection of hats and backpacks to the offering, and they hope to eventually roll out other products such as socks and even apparel.

Collaborations are also in the pipeline. For back-to-school, Dezzys will kick things off with a capsule collection of indie kids’ streetwear label Appaman. “They reached out to us and said they love what we’re doing, so we created four styles that will tie back to their apparel collection,” Taylor explained. “We’re excited to do other collaborations like this one to garner more exposure and explore some new ideas and concepts.”