DSW’s Latest ‘Let Us Surprise You’ Is a Dollhouse of Spring Trends

After a successful launch for fall 2025, DSW is doubling down on its renewed brand positioning centered around its tagline, “Let Us Surprise You.”

For spring 2026, the footwear retailer is taking the idea to the next level with a playful campaign that features a DSW store transformed into a dollhouse. Developed in-house alongside creative agency Spacejunk, the company noted that the idea for the campaign was to create a dollhouse filled with different style moments in order to highlight how consumers can come to DSW as a place of “play” and discover unexpected finds across categories and occasions.

“As we zoom into each dollhouse window, there is a different consumer who is owning a different moment with a different pair of shoes,” Kelly Ballou, vice president of marketing at DSW, told FN in an interview. “We hope that consumers will see themselves reflected in this campaign, because we feature a wide cast of characters in a wide variety of occasions with a bunch of different silhouettes of shoes. There’s something for everyone.”

As for what trends are present in the campaign, Ballou called out the upcoming festival season and the Western boot trend as a major moment in the series. Boots from brands like Frye & Co. and Steve Madden are standouts, she said. Florals and polka dots from Sam Edelman and Dolce Vita make an appearance, as well as a minimalist edit that plays into the popularity of the FX series “Love Story.”

“The good news is our merchants had already bought into the minimalist trend for the season, and now we’re just seeing that really sort of heighten and take off as a result of what’s happening in TV with ‘Love Story,’” Ballou said. “In fact, because we have an internal creative team, we were able to get really crafty with some social-first storytelling and do a Carolyn Bessette Kennedy-inspired photo shoot with the shoes that we already had planned to be featured.”

It’s this new focus on product and marketing that is working well for the retailer. Doug Howe, chief executive officer of DSW parent company Designer Brands Inc., told analysts on the company’s third quarter earnings call in December that its “Let Us Surprise You” brand campaign has “performed well” and is “driving strong awareness” with consumers.

“The campaign generated $2 billion earned media impressions as of the end of October,” the CEO said. “We are continuing to optimize our marketing and media mix as we move forward with this refreshed platform and imagery. In addition, we’re seeing encouraging trends across multiple product categories, indicating that enhancements we are delivering in our broad, balanced assortment are resonating with a wide range of consumers.”

On the marketing side, Ballou noted that the goal for the ongoing campaign series is to build on DSW’s broader strategy to reintroduce the brand as a destination for discovery and style inspiration.

“We want our consumers to see DSW as its own brand, not just a place where they can find their favorite brands,” Ballou added. “My goal is that we start to show up consistently to the consumer. ‘Let Us Surprise You’ is that brand platform that we can keep tweaking each season, but it really allows us to show up consistently, season after season for the consumer. And I’m a big believer that if you show up consistently for the consumer, they know what to expect from you. If they know what to expect from you, they can trust you. And at the end of the day, consumers buy from brands they trust.”