The shoes she was designed to fill
Catherine Headrick ’17, a material and trend designer of performance footwear at New
Balance, often catches herself looking down.
“I’m always looking at people’s shoes,” explains the studio art major who concentrated in printmaking and oil painting at Skidmore. “It’s really
exciting to see when someone is wearing shoes you worked on.”
Headrick at New Balance headquarters
If you don’t already own a pair of the shoes she has helped design for the Boston-based
company, you’ve likely seen some of her designs out on the street or in the gym.
Did Headrick ever imagine she would end up designing sneakers for one of the most
instantly recognizable global brands?
“Actually, yes,” says Headrick, who minored in management and business. She explains that she grew up in Boxford, Massachusetts — close to the Converse
World Headquarters — and took a fashion design class in high school that included
a Converse design competition.
“I put a lot of work into my designs and won the competition, which included a tour
of their headquarters. I remember thinking, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
A step ahead
Associate Professor of Studio Art Joanne Vella continues to show Headrick’s work to her upper-level painting classes. She can even pinpoint where in the studio her former student painted a grid of biomorphic abstractions in muted greys inspired by natural forms. Several of those pieces were shown in Headrick’s senior thesis exhibition at the .
Catherine Headrick ’17 stands in front of two paintings shown as part of her senior thesis exhibition at the Tang Teaching Museum.
Vella isn’t surprised by Headrick’s success. “Our studio art students are prepared
to venture into many different art careers because they have cross-disciplinary training
in many of our 10 disciplines and exposure to all media and materials. Once they learn
the visual language in one discipline, they can apply the concepts to any art form.”
“Skidmore was the perfect choice for me because I like to work in so many different
media,” says Headrick. “I wasn’t committed to one discipline. I love to draw and paint,
make prints and textiles, and try out new processes.”
At Skidmore, she was an active member of the Element Fashion Group, Women in Business,
and Women’s Ice Hockey clubs. She also studied French language, art, and art history
in France during the spring of her junior year. “To this day, studying in Paris is
one of the best things I’ve ever done, especially the opportunity it provided me to
visit so many incredible museums.”
“I got to explore everything at Skidmore.”
Making it in the material world
Just six months after graduation, Headrick landed a one-year internship in materials
development for the Made in USA footwear line at New Balance. After the internship
ended, she parlayed her experience to gain a position as an assistant manager of footwear
materials at Boston-based Reebok.
Headrick works designing footwear at the New Balance headquarters in Boston.
At Reebok, she developed new materials to meet commercial standards for footwear,
ultimately becoming an in-house materials expert and the key material developer responsible
for Reebok’s fashion, streetwear, and energy collaborations.
Partners on these collaborations included brands such as Maison Margiela, Victoria
Beckham, and Pyer Moss.
Headrick’s technical acumen helped her return to New Balance as a material and trend
designer. She now designs textiles and other materials for footwear, selecting the
material and finish combinations that make up a new shoe.
“It’s key to consider how multiple textures sit together, not only functionally for
the shoe to perform, but also to create an aesthetic, tactile, and emotive product
experience,” she says.
In a new season, there are brand-new models as well as updates to franchise models.
Headrick works on the “material-up packs” that reimagine and reinvigorate existing
models. “The vibe of one shoe can be completely changed through the use of concept,
color, and materials so that it feels fresh and new.”
Life in balance
Headrick works hard at New Balance and, just like at Skidmore, she is pursuing her
passions outside the office as well.
She still plays ice hockey and balances it with yoga.
She also continues to build her portfolio as a visual artist, mostly with prints and
paintings. She has exhibited at Gallery Kayafas in Boston and the Cultural Center
at Rocky Neck in Gloucester.
She was also selected to participate in the Art-to-Work Incubator program at University
of Massachusetts Lowell and in the Edgewood Farm Artist-in-Residence program at Castle
Hill in Truro, Massachusetts.
At the end of the day, I simply like to make things. Hands-on experiences. Taking an idea and seeing it to fruition.”Catherine Headrick '17
This article first appeared in the of Skidmore College's Scope magazine.
