Stuart Weitzman, American designer and founder of the internationally known shoe company that bears his name, will speak about his five decades of experience in the footwear industry at an event on Thursday, May 5, at 5:15 p.m.

The lecture is free and open to the public and will be held in room G151 of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall.

In the lecture, “An Entrepreneurial Journey on the Road Less Traveled,” Weitzman will discuss his career, which started in his father’s Massachusetts shoe factory in the 1950s and led to his shoes becoming staples at stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Weitzman has been honored with numerous awards from the footwear, bridal, advertising and business communities for his work in fashion and entrepreneurship. In 2019 his alma mater, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, honored him by renaming their design school the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.

The event is part of the Nixon Distinguished Speaker Series hosted by the College of Human Ecology and the Department of Human Centered Design. Established through the gift of John W. and Lea P. Nixon, Class of 1953, the series provides Cornell students with greater exposure to leading scholars and professionals in the fashion and apparel industry.