NEW POINT OF VIEW; DESIGNER HARLAN BRANDON IS GAINING A FAST FOOTHOLD IN THE MEN'S FASHION MARKET WITH A LINE OF SHOES THAT ARE RIGHT ON STYLE AND PRICE.

Footwear News, August, 2004

Byline: Barbara Schneider-Levy

With a shoe line less than a year old, Harlan Brandon is already making waves in the fashion industry.

The designer's signature dress collection, which hit stores in May '04, was sparked by a former footwear agent in China who asked him why little to no footwear brands are targeted specifically toward African-Americans.

"It was a good question, and we began figuring out how we could find a way to do a [project] together," recalled Brandon, who has spent more than a decade designing for brands such as Fila, Fratelli Rossetti, Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger.

The result is Harlan Brandon Footwear, based in Upper Montclair, N.J. Focused on appealing to what he describes as a church-going,...