FUNCTIONAL FASHION
MARGOT FRASER
When Margot Fraser traveled to Germany in 1966, she never expected to return home with an answer to the world’s foot miseries. 
During a visit to Bavaria, a yoga instructor showed her a pair of sandals, suggesting they might alleviate some of her foot pain. "The design made sense to me, the outline asymmetrical, like a foot, the contoured footbed... it looked like something my feet might enjoy," Fraser says. This was Fraser's introduction to Birkenstock sandals.
After two months of wearing the sandals, Fraser's feet felt alive in a new way. Sensing she was on to something big, Fraser wanted to spread the word to women back home. Unfortunately, the Birkenstock design was everything that fashion wasn't in the 1960s.
"Tiny and dainty were the desired attributes of feet," she says, "Birkenstock certainly didn't fit into that picture!"
Convinced of the merits of Birkenstock sandals, Fraser began importing and selling them from home. At first, retailers told her women would never wear these shoes, but by the early seventies, a cultural shift brought along a change in fashion sense. The Birkenstock sandals fit right into the health-conscious style of the new generation. "I knew that this was not a fad, it was part of something bigger, a mind shift that encompassed more than just dress codes; a new, different way to look at life, to seek a connection with nature," Fraser says. "Birkenstock was part of this movement; it opened people's eyes to the mind-body connection."
"I knew that this was not a fad, it was part of something bigger, a mind shift that encompassed more than just dress codes; a new, different way to look at life, to seek a connection with nature."
MARGOT FRASER |
Fraser's value-based approach to business has brought Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, Inc. from a small home business to the multi-million dollar company it is today. Her company honors its belief in the power of community by sponsoring initiatives like grants, product donations and an employee volunteer program that contribute to the well-being of the recipient communities. "We were the pioneers and made it easier for other companies with similar products and ideas to enter the field; the whole comfort footwear market exploded, helping everybody to prosper."
Idea 19: EDUCATING CONSUMERS →
