NEW YORK — As models walked the runways during Fashion Week last week, the Payless people were hoping that the editors, stylists and other tastemakers looked down.

If they did, they'd see shoes crafted by the designers of Abaete, Lela Rose and Alice + Olivia, done specifically for the mass retail chain.

These collaborations began with Abaete's Laura Poretzky two years ago as Payless CEO Matt Rubel began what he calls his mission to "democratize design." Lela Rose's first batch of shoes will be in stores this fall and Stacey Bendet's Alice + Olivia shoes will debut at retail in the spring.

Rubel set out to find designers who were well known enough to be respected as fashion insiders but hadn't become household names. "Some designers at the earliest stages of their careers are sometimes the most vibrant, but for some reason they're not sticking," he says. "I think we're doing a service to the industry by platforming the young innovators."

That said, Rubel also acknowledges that he hopes these names will attract new customers to Payless stores.

"The target audience is a 24-year-old. If we speak well to that 24-year-old, the 45-year-old will like to play like a 24-year-old and a 16-year-old will want to look like that 24-year-old," Rubel says.

He thinks these new fashion-forward shoppers also will be pleased to find they can buy several pairs of shoes for what they think of as the price of one pair. The Abaete fall collection, for example, features $70 over-the-knee boots with a stacked heel and $30 pumps with color-blocked satin and Lucite cone heel.

"The fashion customer comes in for a designer shoe but is actually buying more units per purchase than our base customer," Rubel reports. "They have more income — or aspire to have more — so Payless is now attracting the alpha consumer, the one who just loves to shop and sample and try new things."

On the flip side, the core Payless customer can participate in the world of high fashion.

"I have complete creative freedom," says Poretzky, who likes the idea that 75,000 units of her shoes are on store shelves each season. "There's definitely a brand awareness that comes with it."

Rubel says he likes that the three designers each have a different aesthetic: Poretzky has "an international sense of being," he describes, while Rose's look is more classic and Bendet's designs seem inspired by a jet-setter who lands at every hot spot.

Obviously the Payless shoes can't be exactly the same as those sold in Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's, but Poretzky says everything with the Abaete name on it must be high quality or the label won't be worth much at the pricier stores.

For the new collection, which will be part of Poretzky's upcoming runway show, the designer is highlighting a 1940s-inspired heel. But, she says, she's also a champion of flat shoes. "I'm doing open-toe flats. 'Flats' doesn't necessarily mean ballet flats."