Emerging Fervour

Style 3: The Wedge

The good old trusted wedge, it’s come in and out and will never disappear as far as I’m concerned. Some might remember I’ve stocked up in last seasons sale and my lovely Nicole Fahri wedges have already come to good use.

I love wedges, so comfy, stylish yet so easy to walk in, none of this wobbling about on a small heel. Having recently moved to Switzerland where every second street seems cobbled, they will be the choice of heel for me this season. Although careful, as they can be heavy and depending on the strap they could get very uncomfortable as they hang off your ankle. But these little things should not hold you back and if you’ve not got already one in your collection, make sure you get one!!

Here are some of my favourites under £150 (it was so hard again as Miu Miu, Christian Dior and all the great designers have created some master pieces):

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania @ Asos £120

Purple & angel wings, how much better can it get?

As much as we love all the established talent out there, Emerging Fervour is all about emerging talent, however….this is one not to be missed and we wanted to fill you in on the action too.

To celebrate Jimmy Choo’s first trainer collection, they’ve launched a city-wide treasure hunt giving you the chance to win a pair of their trainers.

Follow the elusive Jimmy Choo trainers as they make their stylish journey around London. Checking in at the Saatchi Gallery to Shoreditch House – the trainers will update you on their whereabouts in real time. And if they check into a venue near you, you can catch them to keep them.

This all started a couple of days ago and is all still very new so pass it on and make sure you check Twitter or Facebook for the next location!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CatchAChoo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatchAChoo

Four Square: www.foursquare.com/user/CatchAChoo

We’re trying to cover more menswear designers and I came across Duckie Brown a few weeks ago and had to write about the label. Steven Cox and Daniel Silver are the duo behind the Duckie Brown label. Cox is a former designer at Tommy Hilfiger; Silver is a former TV producer.

I just love the light and floaty but masculine pieces; casual or smart these models look super hot on the runway of Duckie Brown’s SS10 collection.

Check out the footwear…I absolutely love them! Back in 2008, Florsheim, a century old American footwear brand, and Duckie Brown teamed up to create Florsheim by Duckie Brown. This pairing is symbolic of Florsheim’s return to the forefront of the footwear industry and it pays homage to classic Americana. Think The Talented Mr Ripley.

For Duckie Brown enquiries, contact fred@duckiebrown.com or for Florsheim, email Danny.Livingston@florsheim.com

I think we might!! Check out these amazing 3D-printed haute couture shoes that have been created in a collaboration between Naim Josefi and Souzan Youssouf.

If you hear 3D printed shoes and can’t figure out what it means, which was certainly the case when I read it, imagine a big printer that prints actual shoes rather than ink on paper. How amazing is that?!  3D-printing creates a three dimensional object and is currently used for prototyping of all sorts.

Naim designed the shoe for his ‘Melonia’ show and came from the concept of no waste. They are products for an industrial ecology and due to the homogeneous material they are easier to recycle and create a closed loop.

His vision takes it further, where shoe production would be done on the spot. Imagine you could walk into a shop, scan your foot, customise colour and other elements and then just print out your shoe.

This definitely sounds like our kind of future!!

My other obsession which got fed at the LFW are shoes!! My oh my what lovely pairs walked around, here are a few of my favourites:

Last week, I wrote about Tetsuya Uenobe and his amazing footwear…this week I have something even better…words from Tetsuya himself. Check out his interview below.

Tetsuya, I adore your work and it’s obvious passion is your drive. But do you find it difficult breaking into the mainstream fashion market with such unusual creations?

Yes I understand that. My artline is like a performance to show my ability and passion. I hope people like my other lines on my website. At the beginning, I just made shoes that were only slightly ‘arty’, which I exhibited at a few trade shows; however this left very little interest from buyers. There were probably two main reasons for this, cost, and of course nothing was particularly eye-catching. This is the reason why I have changed my train of though and instead, decided that making people smile and ignoring budget issues would be the way forward. And besides, If I did not have my artline, you would not be interested in my works!?

Hmmm, you have a point there…So we know that you worked with Hanae Mori, that must have been a dream come true for you, what did you learn from your time spent with her?

She was an organiser for the exhibitions you mentioned in your previous post (the Open Gallery and the Art Tower Mito). She managed whole concepts and checked the themes and quality of the work on display. I had an interview with her once and the opportunity to have a chat each time during both exhibitions. She was always curious about the work going up. I took a lot from the talks we had; she asked me in the interview if I read newspaper – I think this means I have to be open minded and not just look straight ahead, but all around. She also advised me that I should hire at least 3 employees within 5 years. I took from that, that I should increase my brand awareness and grow it into a respected and stable label.

The first time I checked out Tetsuya’s work, I was a little lost for words. I mean, it’s not every day that you see something like this from a footwear designer…

Or how about these?

Tetsuya Uenobe studied shoe design at the London College of Fashion after moving from Japan. After this little stint in London, Tetsuya moved back to Japan to set up his label ‘UENOBE’ in 2003, where he’s become a household name for his out-there creations.

You may think that these creations are more like pieces of art than ready-to-wear…and you’d be right because Tetsuya has exhibited his collection at the Open Gallery at Omotesando, Tokyo and contemporary art museum, Art Tower Mito – both of these exhibitions were recommendations by Hanae Mori, Japans most prominent and respected fashion designers AND the only female Japanese designer to have presented her collections on the London and Paris runways.

Clementine Baxter obtained a first-class degree from Cordwainers, part of London College of Fashion, having begun this brand as part of her degree work. She created her label, Clementine Shoes based on inspiration from the art world, with particular reference to sculpture and architecture.  The bold shapes and constrasting colours really make these pieces stand out.

Her work is a labour of love…the shoes are made with so much dedication and passion, with hours and hours being spent on hundreds of 2D and 3D sketches, until the hundreds of sketches are wittled down to the final few that make it into her collection.

I go on about how much I love detail…anything that is made with an ounce of passion is such a pull for me, in fact I think detail is key to style – but that’s another story. Clementine is no exception, no detail is ever an after-thought and each design detail is constructed after so much thought. Work begins with hundreds of sketches in both 2D and 3D before ruthlessly discarding and reworking until finally the collection emerges. Being part Italian, style is in her blood, and only the finest quality Italian leather is used; all these factors definitely justify the price tag.

For all you die-hard East Londoners…the shoes are all hand-made in your part of town so support your local craftsmen and shop this fabulous designer!

For sales enquiries then contact sales@clementineshoes.com and for any general enquiries contact info@clementineshoes.com.

www.clementineshoes.com

Shoes 75% off? Some costing only £5? You’d think only the ones that no one wants are available but ohhh no, check these out. We think they are fabulous and can’t quite believe you can get your hands on them at such a low price.

Black lizzard peep toe £15 (was £85)

Irregular Choice Shimmy court shoe £35 (was £85), they are just fabulous! If green is not in colour, they are also available in black for a bit more £42.50

Flora Pom Pom platform £15 (was £60) – a classic which will never tire

Mahiki platform ankle boots £30 (was £90) – my personal favourite but then I’m a sucker for that colour

Cyril side stitch knee boots in taupe – the colour that goes with everything £30(was £110)

Tip Top pump £10 (was £40), also available in black but how pretty are those colours?

Cauliflower flats £5 (was £35) – stock up on a basic!!

How you can walk in them, we don’t know but they certainly are showstoppers!!

The Fast Company have put piece up about 13 amazing high-concept shoes which include cutting edge material and techniques which we just had to pass on.

They are amazing and although undoubtedly not very comfortable, I’d love some in a show case!!

Andreia Chaves’ Invisible Shoe, invisible as it will blend in with the environment and so handy when you need a mirror.

Andreia Chaves’ Form & Texture Shoe, I can’t stop thinking Jenga

Marloes ten Bhömer shoe is made of leather and carbon fibre, the individual pieces were formed individually and then assembled to create a fractured collage, they actually look wearable.

And who could forget Alexander McQueen’s crazy creations for his Spring 10 collection?

Check out the rest of them at Fast Company site.

We’ve also found a few more, make up your own mind if they are wearable or not…