Gayle King Presents Favorite Daughter With Launch of the Year at 2025 FNAAs

Gayle King was in attendance at the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards in New York City on Wednesday to present sisters Erin and Sara Foster of Favorite Daughter with the Launch of the Year Award. The brand, which launched in partnership with Centric Brands in 2020, broke into the footwear space this year with the help of Caleres.

King’s task at the event brought together two things she loves: “There are two things I put high on my list of stuff I love. One is smart, chic, badass, fantastic women. That’s one. The other is smart, chic, badass, fantastic shoes. Tonight, I’m here to honor both.”

Dressed in a head-to-toe Favorite Daughter look, including a plum-colored suit and black pointed boots, King spoke of how powerful shoes can be.

“They say that chocolate is good, cheeseburgers are good, icing is good. But shoes, they’re carb-free,” the “CBS Mornings” cohost said. “I say that shoes are also mood enhancers, lust magnets and confidence boosters. Marilyn Monroe said this in a movie once, ‘Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.’ I believe that is true. The right shoe can change the way you stand, the way you work out, the way you feel when you enter a room. The right shoes empower, they surprise and they dazzle. And it’s virtually impossible not to adore them.”

King continued, “So enter Favorite Daughter. My whole outfit, by the way, is Favorite Daughter, top to bottom. Check out the bustier. These guys are so detail-oriented. They said, ‘Do you need a size eight or a 10?’ I said, ‘You know, a 10 to be safe.’ They said, ‘But an eight is snug.’ I said, ‘Well, if you want one boob hanging out, and I remove a couple ribs, give me the eight.’ We chose to go with the 10.”

She noted that the label is on track to make $100 million in sales this year. King also spoke of the new shoe collection, which encompasses a range of silhouettes. “They’ve launched a collection of boots that I have on, pumps, flats, loafers, sneakers, that mix effortless style with comfort. They really like the C word, it stands for comfort with a capital C.”

King further described the shoe line: “Favorite Daughter footwear I say is bold, it’s sleek, it’s lush, it’s compelling. Fancy, timeless, fun and extremely — another C word — cool. They’ve got a very definite point of view.”

On that note, King shifted her attention to the brand’s cofounders: “So that now brings me to the brains behind Favorite Daughter, Sara and Erin Foster. I always believe that god is in the details, and I can tell you for a fact that Sara and Erin are that. Not god, but they’re involved in the details. They’re involved in every decision about this brand, from the design to marketing. They’re not just rubber-stamping their name, collecting a check, they’re at all the fittings, they’re approving the fabrics.”

She also noted how a different brand might try to capitalize on great success by quickly expanding, but “The Fosters said, ‘We want to take our time to get to know our discerning customer.’”

She called the shoe collection made with Caleres — “Thank you Caleres — “built to last.”

Favorite Daughter isn’t the Foster sisters’ only project. While noting that focusing on that brand alone “would be a success,” she mentioned the sisters’ additional endeavors, including their popular Netflix series “Nobody Wants This,” which Erin Foster created and Sara Foster executive produces.

“They are not the first sisters in history to be brilliant writers, but they may be the first to — listen to this — have a line at Nordstrom,” King said.

“And just like the shoes, the Fosters empower, they dazzle, it’s virtually impossible not to adore these two,” she said.

Describing a backstage FNAA moment which also included Coco Gauff and Storm Reid, King recalled how Sara Foster asked Gauff if she could FaceTime her daughter who plays tennis — and they were able to pull it off before Gauff had to get on stage. “It was a very nice moment,” King said.

For 39 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2025 event is supported by Caleres, Listrak, Nordstrom, Skechers, Vibram and Wolverine Worldwide.