Remembering Bernie Medvedev, Founder of the Bernie Mev Footwear Company
Bernie Medvedev, best known in the footwear industry as Bernie Mev (also the name of the shoe company he founded), died this month at the age of 77.
Medvedev was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 21, 1946, and was a major figure in New York City’s footwear industry for more than three decades before retiring in 2008.
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His entry into shoemaking came courtesy of Charlie Cole (father of Kenneth Cole). When Medvedev was working in the shoe department at the New York department store Abraham & Strauss in the 1960s, he met Cole, who asked him to join his new manufacturing business, El Greco.
After several years at El Greco, Medvedev decided in 1974 to go out on his own and opened a small shoe factory in the East Village. He partnered with fellow El Greco alum Wayne Finklestein and together they built Bernie Mev, a thriving business that produced moderately priced fashion shoes for retailers and brands.
In 1989, their operation moved to the Bronx, N.Y., and by the late 1990s, Bernie Mev’s clients included brands such as Kenneth Cole, Betsy Prince, Bagatelle and Tootsies, as well as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Spiegel and other major retailers. In a 1997 article in FN, the partners said they were producing about 2,500 pairs of shoes per week from their 15,000-square-foot facility, even as many shoe companies were shifting manufacturing overseas.
Medvedev’s wife, Nettie, said that in 2000, her husband made the decision to close the factory rather than work in Asia. “He really didn’t want to go to China,” she recalled.
But his time as a shoe dog wasn’t over yet. Itamar and Rachel Carmi, who had been selling Bernie Mev shoes in their New Jersey store, partnered with Medvedev to begin importing footwear from Europe. The Carmis later acquired the business in 2008, when Medvedev decided to retire. Soon after, the Carmis pivoted away from selling traditional women’s shoes to offering the brand’s now-iconic woven novelty designs.
After her husband’s retirement, Nettie Medvedev said he enjoyed spending time with family and golfing around their home near West Palm Beach, Fla. And earlier this year, he launched a podcast to share stories from his life and career.
She said the founder will be best remembered for his kindness and his creativity. “He was always willing to work with his customers if people needed more time to pay bills or if they needed a specific shoe at a certain time. He was always very helpful,” she said. “And he enjoyed what he did, so that was a blessing. He loved the creativity of making and designing the shoes and then going all over to sell them and getting good responses for the shoes.”
Bob Schwartz, president and CEO of New York-based footwear chain Eneslow Shoes & Orthotics, recalled, “Bernie was a storyteller, a fascinating man. He would always be filled with energy while sharing stories from throughout his interesting life. He was also a giver and set the example of what it means to be a leader in his community.”
And Dr. Justin Wernick, who knew Medvedev for over 10 years in Florida as a friend, neighbor and golfing buddy, described him as “a great person and a fixture in our community. He also had this knack for making things happen. He created everything that was around him. His great spirit will be missed.”
—With contributions from Stephen Garner
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