Devon Carney (Executive MBA, ’22) Puts Her Best Feet Forward

Devon Carney (Executive MBA, ’22) has been thinking outside the box lately.  

As a footwear designer and product line manager for the Overland Sheepskin Company, Devon normally focuses on what’s inside the box, be it a pair of shearling-lined leather sneakers, cowhide Chelsea booties, or slipper-style boots trimmed with Tibetan lamb wool—all of which she designed recently for her first collection for Overland, launched in September. 

“I was involved from start to finish, designing and planning the entire line, allocating which factories to use and which stores to ship to . . . even warehouse shoebox management,” says Devon, who was valedictorian of her Zicklin cohort. She sat down for an interview with Zicklin News.  

Zicklin News:  Tell us about Overland and your new footwear line.  

Devon Carney:  Overland is a family-owned apparel company that was founded in Taos, New Mexico, and is best known for its hand-crafted sheepskin jackets. The company’s USP [unique selling proposition] is attention to detail and craftsmanship. We offer a lifetime return policy—you can return anytime for any reason—which is very unique in the business. To me, this shows that Overland really cares about our customers. 

Overland had been experimenting with selling footwear and I was brought in to expand the category. My inspiration for this line was to go back to the company’s history as a New Mexican–born company that embodies a functional heritage. While I was designing, I was envisioning a girl who’s outdoorsy but also fashionable, who might choose a leather hiking boot that’s high end enough that she could also wear it out to dinner. 

Overland model in Carmela boots

ZN:  Do you have a favorite design?

Devon:  One of my favorites is the Carmela, an over-the-knee, fully shearling-lined boot I designed for a customer to pair with Colette, which is our full shearling coat that’s also fully reversible. I was inspired by images of glamorous European actresses like Claudia Cardinale and Brigitte Bardot skiing in the Alps. A lot of design is thinking about what’s going to be trending, and when I saw that Chanel recently did an over-the-knee boot in a runway show, I knew my hunch was correct!

ZN:  Let’s talk about your Zicklin experience. Why did you decide to get an MBA, and why did you choose the Zicklin School? 

Devon:  As an undergraduate, I studied design and merchandising, which is the business side of fashion. I was in design roles after that and I saw that the best designers have a smart business sense, so I decided to go back to school for my MBA so I could get a job that paired my analytical and creative skills. 

I chose the Zicklin School for the people. The orientation sessions at other business schools in the area felt a little cold. But at the orientation for Zicklin’s Executive MBA, I felt a genuine connection, like they wanted me to fit in and feel happy there. Like they cared about me—much like my current company cares for each of its customers, uniquely. 

ZN:  What was your favorite class here? 

Devon:  Leadership Development and Adaptive Performance, more commonly known as “the improv class.” The main takeaway was the idea that every meeting is a performance in which you’re constantly adapting to the other people in the room, feeding off their body language and adjusting as you go. As someone who speaks to multiple stakeholders, I use these skills all the time, and I use them in my personal life as well. 

ZN:  How does having an MBA make a difference in your career as a footwear designer? 

Devon:  I think I’m one of the only people in the creative space who has an MBA. The only other person I know of is a designer I met at Crocs who also has an MBA. The MBA is very helpful for speaking to senior leadership. Understanding their perspective and end goals helps me be a better designer and also to communicate my designs to them in a more productive way. 

ZN:  What was the biggest surprise of your experience designing for Overland? 

Devon:  I got really interested in the warehouse management side, which I certainly never expected. We had a problem where our manufacturers were using different shoebox suppliers. I sourced a centralized shoebox distributor and that made a huge difference, because a box that’s an extra inch here or there can be a nightmare for the warehouse. It was a fascinating project that I led, and I’m hoping to integrate this sort of efficiency into the beginning stages of the footwear design and development process going forward. 

ZN:  Last question: What shoes are you wearing right now? 

Devon:  None! As a footwear designer who works remotely, I spend most of my days barefoot—it’s how I stay grounded and connected to the world around me. Feeling the floor beneath my feet, the textures of my space, keeps my creativity rooted in something real. I love working from home, barefoot, with designs scattered around me and feeling the hum of something new taking shape. 

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