Freed of London

What Freed of London does

Freed of London is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of professional dance footwear, founded by Frederick Freed in London's theater district in the 1920s, with US operations run through Freed of London, Inc. in Long Island City, New York. The company's core product is handcrafted pointe shoes, produced via a traditional 'turn-shoe' method at a scale of nearly 250,000 pairs per year, of which two-thirds are made to individual dancer specifications with 3mm accuracy. It supplements this with the 1996-launched Studios pointe shoe range (modern manufacturing blended with traditional craftsmanship), a ballroom and Latin shoe line introduced in 1969, ballet slippers, dancewear, warm-up garments, cosmetics, and accessories, alongside bespoke special-order pointe shoes hand-lasted in the UK. The company also distributes Japanese partner Chacott's dancewear through its US channel under a mutual distribution arrangement dating to 1987.

Freed of London serves a dual customer base: enterprise B2B accounts including professional ballet companies, dance schools, and stage/screen productions (with reported 90%+ supply share of professional ballet companies worldwide and Royal Academy of Dance approved uniform status), and individual consumers reached via dance specialty retailers and the freedusa.com e-commerce platform. Pricing is unit-based across a $25-$200+ range, with pointe shoes typically $55-$134 per pair and custom special orders priced by consultation; many items are sold as Final Sale. Distribution combines direct B2B supply, wholesale to dance specialty retailers, owned e-commerce, and phone-based sales support in the US.

Revenue mechanics are driven by recurring replacement purchases from professional and student dancers, institutional contracts with ballet companies and schools, and supplementary revenue from Chacott distributed products, dancewear, and accessories. The company is privately held with no disclosed external private equity or venture capital backing, a UK parent (Freed of London Ltd.) and a US subsidiary (Freed of London, Inc.), and over 90% of products manufactured in England. Notable brand extensions include the Brown and Bronze inclusive skin-tone satin collection and ongoing Chacott dancewear rollouts in the US.

Name

Freed of London

Legal name

Freed of London Ltd.

Website

https://freedusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Footwear

NAICS

Footwear Manufacturing (3162), Shoe Retailers (45821), Footwear Merchant Wholesalers (424340)

SIC

Footwear, (No Rubber) (3140), Retail-Shoe Stores (5661)

akta.pro primary industry

Athletic Footwear Manufacturing (Running/Training/Court) (IMAOAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Footwear Retail (Dance, Skate, Cleats, Bowling, etc.) (CRAAADAJ)

Keywords

• Pointe shoe manufacturing
• Ballet footwear
• Ballroom dance shoes
• Handcrafted dancewear
• Custom pointe shoes

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pointe Shoe Sales: Core revenue from handcrafted pointe shoes sold to professional dancers, ballet companies, and students. Both standard and custom special order pointe shoes.
2. Ballroom and Dance Shoe Sales: Ballroom, Latin, stage, screen, tap, jazz and character shoes sold to dancers, competitors, and theatrical productions
3. Dancewear and Apparel: Garments, leotards, tights, warm-up gear, costumes, and accessories for ballet and ballroom dance
4. Custom/Special Order Services: Bespoke special order pointe shoes customized to individual dancer specifications with wide range of options including colors, fabrics, and construction features

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Freed of London designs and manufactures handcrafted pointe shoes, ballet shoes, ballroom and Latin dance shoes, and complementary dancewear/apparel. The company produces nearly 250,000 pairs of Classic Pointe Shoes annually using the traditional turn-shoe method, with two-thirds made to individual dancer specifications. They also offer the Studios pointe shoe range, a full ballroom footwear line, ballet slippers, leotards, tights, warm-ups, costumes, stage cosmetics, and accessories, distributed via their e-commerce site, dance retailers, and direct B2B supply to ballet companies.

Product overview

Freed of London is a dance footwear and apparel company offering a comprehensive portfolio of handcrafted dance products. The core offerings include the Classic and Studios pointe shoe ranges - the Classic line features traditional handcrafted shoes made by individual makers (with nearly 250,000 pairs annually), while the Studios line (launched 1996) combines modern manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship for consistency. The company also carries ballroom/latin shoes, ballet slippers, leotards, tights, warm-up garments, cosmetics, and accessories. Through a partnership with Japanese brand Chacott (since 1987), Freed offers additional pointe shoes, dancewear, and stage cosmetics. The company provides a bespoke special order service for custom pointe shoes and holds Royal Academy of Dance approval for select products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Freed Studios: Pointe shoe range launched in 1996 combining modern manufacturing with traditional craftsmanship
• Freed Studio II
• Freed Studio Professional
• Freed Studio Opera
• Classic Deep Vamp
• Classic Professional
• Brown and Bronze
• Dance Steps Collection
• Chacott by Freed of London
• Chacott

Products and services

• Classic Pointe Shoes

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 250,000 pairs of Classic Pointe Shoes manufactured annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ChacottcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1987Chacott and Freed of London have maintained a business relationship since 1987, cooperating to expand overseas business. Chacott is a major Japanese dancewear manufacturer with 31 directly-managed stores. Through this partnership, Freed of London distributes Chacott products in the US market through freedusa.com, while Chacott distributes Freed products in Japan. The partnership allows both companies to leverage their respective strengths in different geographic markets.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Wear Moi: European dancewear and activewear brand expanding a pointe-shoe and apparel range that increasingly overlaps Freed's student-tier offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Repetto: Iconic French ballet-flat and dancewear house; overlaps with Freed at the premium/ballet lifestyle end and is supplied through similar high-end dance boutiques and department stores, though its core line is broader than dance performance.

Direct peers

• Sansha: International dance-footwear maker (pointe shoes, ballet flats, ballroom, jazz) with strong student-tier pricing that competes directly with Freed's Studio II and Classic beginner ranges.
• Grishko: Russian manufacturer of pointe shoes, ballet slippers and character shoes with worldwide distribution and competing wholesale/retail relationships with ballet companies and schools.
• Russian Pointe: US-distributed Russian-made pointe shoe brand offering an alternative to Freed's Classic and Studios lines with comparable customization and pro-level positioning.
• Mirella: Energetiks-owned dancewear and ballet footwear label with comparable ballet slippers, leotards, tights and warm-ups, competing in the same dance retail and studio channels.
• Bloch: Australian-founded global maker of ballet and dance footwear, including pointe shoes and a full dancewear line, directly serving the same professional and student dancers with similar product breadth.
• Capezio: Long-established US dancewear and dance footwear maker (ballet slippers, pointe shoes, ballroom) competing head-to-head with Freed for dance studios, companies, and individual dancers in the same retail and wholesale channels.
• Gaynor Minden: US pointe-shoe specialist built around modern, longer-lasting materials instead of traditional paste; targets the same professional and pre-professional dancer base with a tech-forward alternative.

Others

• Chacott: Japanese dancewear and cosmetics manufacturer; official mutual-distribution partner of Freed of London since 1987, sharing product ranges and overlapping endpoints across dance retail channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freedoflondonus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chacott-by-freed-of-london

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freed of London