Interview with Tanita S. Gray, founder of Last-Report

Last-Report is a shoe-driven online magazine that has a unique cultural/lifestyle spin including industry, manufacturing, trends and style.

Tanita S. Gray is a footwear designer, developer & educator. Currently, Tanita S. Gray lives in Southern California with her family of
7 and consults as brand manager and freelance footwear designer for emerging brands via TS Gray Consulting. She is an adjunct instructor for FIDM (Fashion Institute of Merchandising) in California, USA. And now – a journalist, editor and publisher for Last-Report.

Where did your love for shoes start?
My mother would tell me of her young adult days traveling to lower Manhattan (The Village, New York City) to get her shoes custom made by a cobbler on West 8th street. Her stories of the shoes she owned were like fairy tales to me. When I was old enough to buy my own shoes in the mid 90’s, I made sure to go to the same place! Unfortunately the cobbler was no longer in business but a very vibrant ‘Shoe Store Row’ sprang up. My friends and I used to go nuts to see all the new shoes from around the world and found we had become great shoe hunters at a young age. From being able to see how different shoes could be imagined and being able to identify which shoe was from which region in the world and learning about them, sparked my interest in shoe design. I was still in High School when I had my first pair of motorcycle boots from Harley Davidson – I didn’t even own a bike nor was I adventurous enough to ride one, but the embroidered eagle on the front shaft spoke to me and I never looked back. I thought – if people would wear a bird on a boot – then I want to design shoes!

Do you have a great example in your profession and why?
I have been a shoe designer for 17 years. Probably one of the most interesting examples in my career happened in Nuevo Hamburgo (Brazil) figuring out how to get an aged/worn look for a suede combat boot I designed for a brand called Artful Dodger. I wanted it to be burnished or worn all over the upper – I actually wanted them to run over the shoe with the freight truck to get the effect. The factory workers were concerned and laughing at the same time because they made such a handsome boot that was clean and perfect, and here I am asking to ‘damage’ it. They had never had such a request before so everyone came out to see the boot evolve. Finally after a few days of experimenting, we decided to brush oil randomly by hand along the upper using a wire brush, then sanding over those areas and wrapped the boot with laces like they would in the army (so I was told) overnight. It was actually educational for all of us. I got to see my idea come to life and the factory had a new technique they could offer to other clients in the future who had such a crazy idea as mine. Today…you can get oiled and brushed suede easily from the tannery.

Do you see a change in the students’ interests due to social media?
Social media has made the shoe design world look very easy! For me this is misleading because I believe I spent a lot of time, energy and years learning the craft from scratch and to see private labels (or white label collections) and copies circulate the social media world is a little weird for me to see. My opinion is that it devalues the process of shoemaking and thoughtful design when students can speed past the history and craft with a Shopify account and purchases from Alibaba. The interest is still there, I think for creative newness – but there is a skewed understanding of what being a shoe designer initials. I saw a brand post that they make all the shoes by hand, when actually all that they were doing was placing rhinestones on top of shoes already made. Imagine being a designer who actually makes their own shoes from pattern, to last, to heel seeing this? Social media does however, create a heavy rotation of new brands to discover, new ideas, and expanded distribution.

How do you feel about celebrities taking over fashion design due to their fame?
Celebrities were always seen as fashion influencers as far back as the 50’s and the 70’s were flooded with celebratory fashion. Today, celebrities are hired to influence sales and that is a big ‘possibility’. It’s not a guarantee that celebrities can actually ‘sell’ fashion anymore. It depends highly on the product AND if the celebrity actually promotes the product that they are pushing. So for example Kanye’s Yeezy collections would not be successful if he did not show himself in his own shoes. I have actually worked with celebrities that did not wear their “own shoes” and you can see that the brand failed because of that. Celebrities can push fashion and trends, but it has to be believable to the consumer in order for fame to actually mean anything. Look at luxury fashion right now. A celebrity can wear Gucci – ok. But what is selling Gucci is that custom sneaker designer that can artfully place the double G’s in such a realistic way (without the glam and fluff) – they can charge more than Gucci does. Customized sneakers can go well into the thousands. So it’s not always a celebrity that takes over fashion – it’s how creatives are taking over fashion by using celebrities and big brands to push their ideas in a more real way, and they don’t even have to pay for it!

What was the biggest challenge in your work during Covid?
I hosted factory tours here in Los Angeles and Covid certainly put a halt to those plans. It’s been two years already and I have not been able to return to that aspect of my work, however interestingly enough my consulting opportunities ramped up ironically during this time.

Why the expansion of equestrian and pet footwear?
When we think of footwear we tend to forget that there are other markets out there that offer shoes! Shoes for dogs, cats, horses, pigs – any animal that is identified as a pet or investment. Think of the dog runs in Alaska – maybe adding shoes help their ability to continue running (their paw pads don’t get ruined as fast), same for dogs that owners take them trail running or through tough terrain. Cats can wear shoes to cover their claws or just look cute for Instagram. Horses have work ‘shoes’ for atleast 100 years but now there are sneakers! There is a purpose and function to these types of footwear which opens opportunities for innovation and design that the shoe world does not recognize.

What is the next goal for Last-Report?
Last-Report is somewhat of a passionate platform. What I want to do next is expand into marketing, where it is needed. For example, one of my goals is to reach new designers who want to be discovered by the industry on my platform. I want them to know I am here. I see other footwear publications folding and I feel compelled to keep Last-Report going. My platform has no stakeholders other than myself so there is no pressure to sell ads or team to stress over at the moment. So as the industry changes, especially now post-Covoid (or are we still in current Covid?), when the smoke clears and the industry reveals who survived and who is challenged – I want Last-Report to be able to highlight those who are still in it, and who is entering this next phase of the footwear industry. There will be more emphasis on the emerging designers, sustainability, waste management and forward thinking. I do see the future of the business in general making a drastic change and I want Last-Report to be there to write about it.

What’s the best advice someone has given you?
Be patient. Innovation takes time. Being ahead of the curve takes time for others to catch up. Don’t give up. Think outside of the box. Those are all fantastic advice because it simply means that if you give your efforts time to grow, success is there waiting. Being patient is not easy. Especially as a creative person – we usually want instant gratification because we effortlessly can create anything we put our minds to. However, when it comes to other’s acknowledging your creativity in your field of choice – they may need some time to see the full scope of what you have done.

About Last-Report
Last / noun /: The construction or foundation base used in shoe design.
Last-Report was established as a footwear industry. Our approach is reporting with stylized journalism, op-eds with an industry insider view. Have a look at the website.

Our Mission
The Last-Report is the building block for any organization entering the footwear industry. Dedicated to bringing the latest in the footwear business development, marketing, trend forecast, consumer culture, finance, travel, retail, style, as well as, health & wellness. Last-Report was developed as a resource and voice of the entrepreneurs, professionals, students and ‘all who love the business of shoes’.

Our Motto
The first of its kind. Last-Report is the only footwear news magazine that identifies the shoe business professionals as shoe consumers. The only footwear news magazine that acknowledges western, equestrian and pet footwear as a category. Last-Report is the only footwear news magazine with constant coverage on footwear accessories, hosiery, socks & orthopedics – the only footwear news magazine that has a health segment and an education platform footwear design & manufacturing.
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