Naturalizer unveils debut collaboration with June Ambrose

Celebrity stylist June Ambrose, who has worked with Jay-Z and Missy Elliott and was a creative partner with Puma, has unveiled her first collaboration with Caleres’ women’s footwear brand Naturalizer as the brand's global ambassador and guest creative director.

Drawing on her experience combining sport and fashion, fashion disruptor Ambrose has created a capsule collection rooted in comfort that aims to offer a new approach to women’s footwear, “one that reflects a shift in what women across generations demand from their daily fashion,” explains the brand in the press release.

The June Ambrose x Naturalizer collection, called ‘Style-letics,’ debuts with two statement styles, the ‘Nova-Shaft’ and ‘Zyra’, designed for the “sport of daily life”. Merging fashion aesthetics with athletic codes, each shoe aims to “give couture but move with ease,” adds the brand, infusing the celebrity stylists' high fashion and streetwear experience with the nearly 100-year-old footwear brand's expertise in comfort and fit.

Commenting on the debut drop, Ambrose said in a statement: “Style-letics is the new choreography of fashion. It’s this fusion of culture, movement, and identity, the way women really live.

“Every day is a sport. Every schedule is a sprint. And I wanted to create a language where style flexes with us, not against us. Style doesn’t have to hurt to be powerful.”

June Ambrose launches sport-infused shoe capsule for Naturalizer

The ‘Nova-Shaft’ offers a new sandal-boot hybrid silhouette, bringing together a sleek and sporty stiletto sandal with a detachable knee-high boot cuff that fits over the stiletto. The 2-in-1 style is available in brown snake print leather and black leather, and features Naturalizer’s Rezorb responsive cushioning for superior shock absorption and impact protection for a sneaker-like feel.

This is joined by the ‘Zyra,’ a ghillie lace-up stiletto pump with sneaker-inspired construction and cushioning, infused with Naturalizer’s signature contour and comfort foam footbed technology. This style comes in four colourways: black, white, wine red, and metallic lime green.

Natelle Baddeley, chief design and product officer at Caleres, added: “Working with June began with a single, clear idea she articulated on day one: Style-letics. That became our north star – the belief that performance and style don’t compete. They collaborate.

“What makes this collaboration truly unique is the tension June loves to play in: pairing sport-forward construction with unexpected luxury finishes, colours, and materials. The result is footwear that shows up for everyday life with an undeniable attitude.”

The full collection designed by Ambrose will drop in March, featuring five styles, two sneakers, and three hybridised dress shoes “that challenge traditional categories”. All of which will take visual cues from athletic footwear, such as blending premium leather, evolved reptiles, and performance materials, like textural meshes, with sport codes like reflective stripe detailing, Velcro closures for easy fit adjustments, rubbery traction outsoles, and athletic grade foams for insoles and midsoles for ultimate flexibility and cushioning.

The debut drop will be exclusive to Naturalizer’s website, with prices ranging from 295 to 350 US dollars. The full collection in March will be available at Naturalizer, as well as Macy’s and Nordstrom.

Jay Schmidt, chief executive officer at Caleres, added: “Our focus continues to be on building our lead brands with enduring cultural authority - brands that honour their origin while continuing to evolve. Naturalizer has long defined what comfort means for women.

“This collaboration with June Ambrose underscores how comfort and trend are mutually reinforcing forces. By bringing together Naturalizer's fit legacy and product innovation with visionary creative voices like June, we're expanding what modern comfort looks like, while keeping this Caleres lead brand firmly at the centre of today's style conversation.”