The company

One house. Two coasts. Three continents.

Pinnacle Brand Group designs, develops, manufactures and markets its own footwear brands — and puts the same organization to work for partners, men's and women's, from San Diego and New York to factories across Italy, Portugal and Asia.

Mission

We believe shoes carry us through life, and we are here to push the category forward one pair at a time.

Our experience comes from designing, developing and sourcing footwear for our own brands and for partners. Our mission is to elevate the category through timeless design, authentic brands and a more direct model for retail — for the labels we own and for the partners we build for.

A maker inspecting a shoe on the shoemaking floor
On the shoemaking floor. Photograph from Pinnacle's published archive.
What we are

Designer. Developer. Manufacturer.

Most companies in footwear are one of these. A brand licenses out its production. A sourcing agent never touches design. A design studio hands over a sketch and disappears. Almost nobody carries a shoe from the first drawing to the loading dock.

We run the whole chain for our own brands — Gordon Rush since 1998, Rush Gordon Rush since 2004, Blake McKay as a digitally native label — and that is exactly what we offer to others, in men's and in women's. A significant share of what we do is designing and sourcing footwear for other companies, which gives every partner the purchasing weight of the whole house.

Timeline

A short history.

1858

The namesake partnership

Lyman Blake and Gordon McKay form the partnership that mechanises shoemaking and changes the industry for good. A century and a half later it gives Blake McKay its name.

1998

Gordon Rush is founded

Contemporary classic men's footwear, built on great-fitting lasts and quiet detail. Sold through the best department stores and, later, direct.

2004

Rush Gordon Rush

An accessibly priced younger brother launches, taking its cues from the flagship while keeping its own personality.

2009

Pinnacle Brand Group

The holding company is formed to run the brands, the design team and a growing private-label practice as one operation.

Today

Own brands, partner brands

Three house brands across department store, DTC and marketplace channels, plus design, sourcing and brand work for fashion labels, retailers and founders.

What we bring to a project

One team, from brief to delivery.

The design, development and sourcing disciplines behind our own brands are also available to footwear partners.

01

Design

Assortment planning, sketches and material direction turn a brand's brief into a footwear line.

Design and development
02

Development

Specifications, components and samples bring the design into focus, with fit and construction reviewed along the way.

How we work
03

Sourcing

Factory selection, costing, production checks and logistics carry the approved sample through to delivery.

Sourcing and manufacturing
Where

San Diego and New York.

Headquartered in San Diego, with a New York office for wholesale partners, press and showings, and standing relationships with factories in Italy, Portugal and Asia. Press, licensing and partnership inquiries: design@pinnaclebrandgroup.com

Start a project

Talk to the people who make the shoes.

No account managers between you and the design team. Tell us what you need and who will answer is who will build it.