Filling Market Gaps

Creating stylish and comfortable heels for the mature woman, F.Major is a luxury footwear brand that aims to fill a large industry gap.

Jen Fessler is a Texas-raised, NJ-based wife, mother of 2, and CEO of F.Major—a research-fueled luxury heel for women her age that's designed to look hot and feel cool. After attending Boston University and graduating from the University of Texas, she spent 11 years in NYC, working as both a dating-site director and fashion recruiter. Jen continued her fashion recruiting work in New Jersey where she simultaneously raised her 2 kids. At the age of 50, Jen partnered with her longtime friend Shari Friedman to create what is now F.Major. She is a self-proclaimed fashionista who loves everything beauty, clothes, accessories, and shoes.

Shari Friedman is a wife, mother of 2 girls, Long Island native, and President of F. Major. After earning her master's degree at USC, Shari spent 20 years in entertainment and sales working for AOL, Myspace and Snapchat before partnering with longtime friend Jen Fessler on a mission to prove that comfy doesn't need to mean clunky when it comes to heels. Shari is a self-proclaimed fashionista as well whose favorite shoe used to be a sneaker....until she co-founded F. Major!

1. Tell us about yourselves. When did you first know you were interested in the fashion/ footwear industry?

F.Major (@shopfmajor) was conceived in 2018. Jen was attending a charity event for juvenile diabetes, an organization close to her heart as her daughter has Type 1 diabetes. Jen looked great but couldn't enjoy herself due to the pain caused by her designer high heels. She found herself leaving the party and walking the streets of New York City barefoot.

She then sought out a heel that was both beautiful and comfortable, and tried to find it online. After searching for "comfort heels for women over 50" "designer heels in size wide" and "black pumps for older women," she couldn't find a single black heel that was comfortable but also fashionable.

Her next attempt was to go shopping. Enlisting the help of a salesperson at an upscale department store, Jen asked for a 3 inch black heel that was comfortable and perhaps wider than customary. She was informed that luxury designers didn't make heels in wide sizes and was advised to size up.

After failing to find a solution to her problem, Jen had an "ah-ha" moment. There was no way she was learning to walk again and wear incorrect sizes at age 50. She pondered why the high heel shoe industry ignored older women, as al she wanted was a single black pump she could wear with anything and everything. Recognizing the power of the over 50 demographic when it came to the beauty industry, the fitness industry and the fashion industry, Jen was inspired to create something she desired that was missing from the market.

Jen partnered with Shari, her best friend of 30 years/college roommate who happened to be a digital marketing expert. Working with a designer shoe craftsman in Spain, Jen and Shari created the essential 3 inch black heel.

2. How do you / your team generate new ideas?

By getting together physically. We live on different coasts and have found that the nuances of our personalities are best captured when we are face to face. We're more able to tap into our caustic personalities which is one of the key differentiators for our brand. As partners, we have a very left brain/right brain dynamic. I am more of a creative partner and Shari is analytical. We are able to understand and contribute to each other's strengths in a more thorough capacity.

3. Do you have any specific rituals for resetting creativity?

Stepping away from the work for a day (or a minute) usually helps revive whatever concept we're working on. Because F.Major is selling a single product (for now) it can be challenging to come up with fresh new ways to market ourselves and our brand. A glass of wine also helps.

4. How do you identify trends? What resources does you use to spot trends and consumer insights within your industry?

Part of F.Major's mission is to embrace the message that what's trending is COMFORT. This has never been as clear as it is now, post pandemic. Older women are too smart to rely on trends to determine what looks good. We have the experience to know. We are too smart to fill our closets with anything that we don't actually wear. Talking to women our age (and sometimes older or younger) about the heel and what iteration they'd like to see it in is key to identifying what comes next for F.Major. We got so many requests for a nude color and it is presently in the works.

5. What is the biggest challenge you face when innovating within your field?

Our technology is our greatest innovator and enables us to apply comfort to all different styles of heels. Having said that, we are not shoe designers by trade. Instead we rely on personal experience to dictate what older women want.
We were told by more then a few branding and PR experts that speaking about aging is a brand killer. Addressing aging in a new and modern way is constantly a focus of ours. It is also a challenge dealing with overseas manufacturers. There are ever changing regulations around shipping from Spain. Export taxes are oftentimes changing as well.

6. Has there ever been an instance where another industry has influenced your work?

The industry that has most influenced our work is the shapewear industry, specifically the brand SPANX by Sara Blakely. The brand introduced what was essentially a "girdle" in a way that felt sexy and desirable. Women felt empowered to embrace issues like panty lines and tummy shaping in a new and appealing way. The stigma was essentially lifted from shapewear. We are positioned to do the same in the area of women's ageing feet. We talk about issues like bunions and planter fascitis openly and offer a solution that's sexy and cool.

7. What makes an innovative work culture? How do you create a culture of innovation?

Our innovative work culture is often closely connected to our sense of humor. That may sound like the antithesis of hard work but we find it instrumental in maintaining the joy of the entrepreneurial process. Sometimes, it is the freedom that comes with sharing outrageous ideas and humorous anecdotes that moves us to the next level.

8. Looking to the future, how will your brand continue to be a leader in innovation?

We intend to stay true to the brand's message and that has very little to do with following ever changing trends. We will lead innovation by using our patent pending technology to create more classic styles and advocating for an attitude that embraces age in new and surprising ways. F.Major is a new brand and we are trying to master and focus on this theme. Comfort is the main trend right now and the main solution for the brand as a whole for older women specifically since covid. Now we no longer have to sacrifice comfort for sexy. We want to spread the word that older, smarter women are able to shatter expectations.