Luxury shoe titan Christian Louboutin is offering a “Tattoos to Measure” bespoke embroidery service at its Los Angeles, Paris and London locations, allowing patrons to order custom-made Louboutins embroidered with images inspired by their own ink.
Sazzi Footwear wants to send four lucky winners on a dream trip of their choosing to anywhere in the world. Just head to the brand’s Facebook page and tell the team where you want to go. Weekly winners will receive a pair of Sazzi sandals and will be entered in the quarterly contest for a chance to win up to $2,500 in travel reimbursement to go on the vacation of a lifetime. The contest will run through December 2013.
Fans of Wes Anderson’s hit movie Moonrise Kingdom will agree that Lauren Moffatt’s Fall ’13 collection smacks of Suzy Bishop. Models perched on tree stumps at last week’s presentation, wearing Dieppa Restrepo oxfords in a buttery palette of tan, cream, rose and mint. Inspired by a recent visit to the Catskills, the collection was chock full of Moffat’s signature dresses, high-waisted trousers and vintage-looking coats in a mix of muted graphics and chevron prints. [Images courtesy of Hannah Thomson]
In their second outing for Perry Ellis, Duckie Brown designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver set the stage for a trip to the woods (or Williamsburg bar, The Woods), embracing a rustic color palette with touches of camo and wallpaper prints. For Fall ’13 the PEDB man holds restrained tailoring (think two-button and double-breasted suits) and leather bomber jackets in equal regard and loves his Duckie Brown for Florsheim monkstraps.
Wolverine 1000 Mile has once again teamed up with Brooklyn, NY-based designer Samantha Pleet for her Fall/Winter 2013 collection. Exploring themes of early modern art and design, the line draws inspiration from Picasso’s harlequins, Schiele’s muses and Bauhaus geometry in the silhouettes and details. The luxurious texture palette of silk satin, tattered georgette, supple lambswool and embroidered velvet is rendered in a vibrant story represented by Pleet’s handpainted watercolors.
Vans has taken home the SIMA Footwear Product of the Year Award for the fourth time as announced at the SIMA Image Awards last Thursday in Anaheim, CA. Top honors were awarded to the company for its Van Doren Series featuring Classics with prints culled from Vans’ vast archives. The skate-and-surf brand also received its first-ever nomination for Environmental Product of the Year with the Nexpa Pro sandal utilizing a cradle-to-cradle footbed recycling program.
When Chinese-born, France-based brand Feiyue (“flying forward”) landed its kids’ kicks on U.S. soil last year it had an inkling the scaled-down sneakers would be a hit. After all, actions speak louder than words and since the line was lifted from relative obscurity in 2006 the children’s collection represents 8 percent of its global turnover. “Colorful designs and accessible prices make the range very attractive for buyers,” says Cynthia Pelletier, the brand’s North American sales manager.
Project Runway breakout star Christian Siriano and Payless ShoeSource have teamed up to bring immediate access to affordable runway fashions with the Feb. 18 availability of LeToile, a direct-from-the-runway black patent slingback featured in Siriano’s show this past weekend, offered at thousands of Payless stores nationwide and online for $30.
Thursday night saw New York’s fashion folk check in at the opening party for “Shoe Obsession,” the new exhibition at the Museum at FIT. Sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue, guests included Alexandre Birman, Jessica Hart, Fern Mallis, Edmundo Castillo and more. The exhibit runs through April 13; an accompanying book is also due out in April.
Over the years shoes have grown from a simple necessity to statement-making works of wearable art. As designers in the last decade have continued to push the envelope and raise the style bar, women the world over are coveting their latest creations. And now we have the exhibit to celebrate it, thanks to the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT). The Manhattan-based college’s “Shoe Obsessed” exhibit will be on display Feb 8 to Apr. 13, celebrating contemporary shoe designers and how they have transformed the world of footwear since 1999.
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