About Us

A Pinch of History

1842

“Make Good Goods,
and Nothing but
Good Goods.”

Morris Selz emigrates to the United States at only 16 years old. He would go on to found M Selz & Co. in Chicago, a wholesale shoe trade with the mission to make nothing but ‘good goods.’
1928

New
Leadership

C. Trafton Cole, William B. Rood, Edward Haan and two other executives take up the mantle of the business.
1957

Maine
on the Horizon

E.E. Taylor acquires the company and moves manufacturing to Augusta and Freeport, Maine.
1979

An Unexpected
Ascension

The brand is renamed to Cole Haan and grows to international success in the years to follow.

Our Mission

A Rich History of
Looking Forward

As one of America’s time-honored footwear and accessories brands, we have remained rooted in craftsmanship, design and comfort since 1928. But that’s not what makes us iconic.

For nearly 100 years, we’ve disrupted the industry; creating innovations in footwear that responded to changing American lives and reshaped the category. Yes, we honor the established, but it’s our irresistible urge to challenge convention that defines us.

We believe traditions begin with the audacity to create and celebrate something new. Always inspired by the possibilities of the future, we take the best of timeless American style and reinvent it to make it something better.

OUR Design Convictions

What Defines a Cole
Haan Product

N^O 1

Something We Call “Future Familiar”

The meaningful collision of tradition and modernity, informed by the moments in life that matter most. Since the earliest inception of the brand, Cole Haan has injected the classic with the contemporary, the conventional with the disruptive, the established past with the promising future.
N^O 2

Cole Haan DNA

Our DNA is comprised of timeless silhouettes, distinctive color palettes, selected and engineered materials, craft, technique and construction that all represent the essence and identity of the brand. Together, these elements make our products unmistakably Cole Haan.
N^O 3

Grand360 Design & Innovation

Designed from the inside out, engineered for the moments that matter. Our Grand360 design approach and engineering system helps adapt to—and prioritize—sustainability goals. With over 30 innovative features, our shoes emphasize comfort and versatility without ever sacrificing style.
N^O 4

A Commitment to Sustainability

Creating lower impact products with less ingredients with materials engineered or adapted from nature. Featuring our patented and proprietary cushioning compound FlowerFoam™ and our commitment to sourcing 90% of our leather from gold-rated Leather Working Group tanneries.

OUR Signature Product Lines

Discover the Grands

The one that started it all.

The unexpected meeting of a sneaker-obsessed PR department member and a designer looking to make a mark. A product of pure alchemy, bringing forth our original hybrid dress shoe. Comprised of a dress upper and an athletic sole, and held together by a unique leather welt, it was inspired by the way astronauts walk weightlessly on the moon—and its design was revolutionary.

Shop ØriginalGrand
The boardroom disruptor.

The evolution of our sneaker-inspired outsole. Maximum flexibility. Superior comfort. Sustainably crafted. Exceptionally light. A decade of remastered tradition where the worlds of sneaker culture,
high fashion, casualwear and sports become one.

Shop ZERØGrand
An ode to the collective
memory of sport.

The GrandPrø family of footwear conjures the sights and style from the golden era of athletics. Inspired by the parquet and the pavement, GrandPrø is meticulously crafted and designed for the modern arenas of life.

Shop GRANDPRØ
Classic on the outside. Reinvented on the inside.

Pumps, wedges, dress oxfords and more, these are the ultimate classics. Almost 100 years of timeless style and handcrafted DNA, completely re-engineered for comfort to make you look—but most importantly, feel—the part.

Shop GRANdSeries