Nautical-inspired footwear is sailing the high seas for Spring ’14 with primary colors and campy maritime motifs. Brazil-based Mel interpreted classic Breton stripes as ropes on chunky wedge silhouettes. Similarly Jon Josef added a resort vibe to smoking slippers with anchor embroideries. For a more classic take on the nautical trend, brands like Johnston & Murphy and Dr. Scholl’s mixed in bold stripes and washed chambray.
Just when you think the oxford trend is on its last legs, designers whip up a new range of the enduring and versatile style. This season’s batch calls to mind lush bouquets and decadent French macarons with a pastel palette and vintage aesthetic of the Roaring ’20s. In fact, even though styles from the likes of Wolverine and White Mountain are for women, it’s easy to imagine Jay Gatsby matching his cool shirts with these fresh-hued lace-ups.
Giving leather a rest, brands turned to linen, denim and most notably, printed textiles to add a jolt of newness to their Spring ’14 collections at the June FFANY show in New York. Prints spanned photo-real galactic scenes and plumes of peacock feathers to modern interpretations of tie-dye. And on classic silhouettes like a two-piece flat from Chinese Laundry and ballerinas at Hush Puppies to CMerit’s old-school hi-tops and vulcanized loafers, these prints provided a pop of color and freshness to otherwise basic footwear.
From dapper dandies to skate-inspired swag, the street style at the recent European fashion weeks couldn’t have been more opposite, but, as reported by GQ, one accessory united all: the Nike Flyknit. Whether on fashion directors or the dudes behind the lenses, the lightweight runners were everywhere, and the streamlined silhouette paired perfectly with tailored duds and sportier looks.
New Balance is releasing a pack of performance and lifestyle footwear to mark the mid-season achievements of its baseball athletes. Inspired by New York team colors, the special edition made-in-the-U.S.A. US574 features a hi-viz orange outsole, bright blue suede, full grain white leather saddle, a digi-camo liner and tricolor flat laces. Meanwhile, the Minimus 20v3 training shoe rocks the New York skyline on the upper and a map of the city on the insert.
The Adidas Springblade is the brand’s latest step in the athletic technology evolution. Six years in the making, it’s the first running shoe with individually tuned blades designed to propel runners forward. Unlike standard EVA midsoles that deliver energy return in a vertical direction, Springblade features 16 forward angled blades made of high-tech polymer, which compresses and releases energy to create an efficient push-off.
Forget seven-time champion Roger Federer’s shocking early exit from Wimbledon. His orange-soled Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour LE sneakers were booted out after just 69 minutes of on-court use. While the tournament has an all-white dress code, shoe color falls into a gray area, with many players sporting pops of colors on their tennies, and the neon orange on Federer’s Nikes matched the color of the swoosh on his T-shirt and headband. Was it the crushing loss of his carefully coordinated uniform that doomed the player in the second round?
On the heels of its successful pop-up shop venture last year, heritage work brand Wolverine will open a permanent store at 256 Elizabeth Street in New York’s hip Nolita nabe at the end of July. The shop will offer a curated selection of goods that shares the brand’s commitment to quality, heritage and craftmanship.
Timberland, a wholly owned subsidiary of VF Corporation, opened its new Big Apple digs in Union Square earlier this month, just in time to preview its Spring 2014 wares during FFANY.
Picture the scene: Die-hard sneakerheads lined up before daybreak waiting to buy the new LeBron James sneakers. A guy approaches and attemps to rob the group. One customer pulls out a gun and shoots him dead. No, this isn’t a SNL skit poking fun at the shoe-collecting community. It happened.
Sign up to receive the digital edition of Footwear Plus, fashion news, and more.
