MANOLO BLAHNIK
Illustrations




Recently I have really enjoyed using watercolours as a painting medium and I love using them while trying ('trying' being the operative word) to illustrate shoes (I need way more practice). So when I've got a bit of time I love checking out Manolo Blahniks illustrations to inspire me. Today I'm going to leave you with a few of my favourite illustrations - they'll have you pining for the real thing!

(FYI - there is a book full of Blahniks illustrations available to buy on amazon, i just love it! )


















Designer to Watch

BURAK AYAN





Burak Ayan has cropped up on my radar a number of times the last couple of months, I may be a little late with finding this gem of a designer but I'm so glad I did. Burak Uyan developed his shoe designing skills at Giambattista Valli before releasing his own footwear label, so you can imagine he has chosen only the best Italian artisans to handcraft his shoes. His Spring Summer 2015 range is  gorgeous, with bright pops of colour and geometric shapes that you can't go wrong with this summer. 












Stockist
Luisviaroma (older range available and just one pair)

Price
I was unable to find prices on his website, however looking at the price range on the Luisaviaroma site for his older range you would be looking at around the £600 - £900 mark (if anyone is able to find the prices please let me know I always like to learn where to source this sort of stuff and updating posts - I always give credit where its due to!)

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Twitter
@burakuyan (his tweets are protected unfortunately)

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Celeb Collaborations

Actors and celebs in fashion seem to go hand in hand, and why not? They are always given the best clothes and shoes to wear at the red carpet events and are sufficiently surrounded by the critical media eye, so I suppose it's in their best interest to always look good, with this said there are a couple stand out collaborations with actors and celebs who have taken their interst in fashion further, designing clothes and most importantly shoes. Here are my favourite celeb collaborations in footwear;



Angelina Jolie X Louboutin

This collaboration was for the movie Maleficent, you may have noticed Angelina Jolie in them for the Premier.




Sarah Jessica Parker - SJP Collection







Kate Bosworth X Matisse

A 20 pair collection which I absolutely love, Kate Bosworth has always been a underestimated style icon.




Iggy Azalea X Steve Madden






Olivia Palermo X Aquazzura




This collection was a match made in heaven, Edgardo Osorio (head designer at Aquazura) and Olivia Palermo have very similar tastes, so obviously the range of 6 shoes designed in this collaboration are classy and sassy at the same time.



Alexander McQueen
Savage Beauty


The Ultimate Visionary





This was one of those exhibitions where I had to actually digest what I had just observed.  Now, I know this sounds slightly exaggerative, but it’s not untill you follow the exhibition all the way round that you fully understand the extent of this man’s exceptional talent. I was in awe the whole way through; with his tragic death at the back of my mind, and the immense loss of talent the fashion industry is forever going to miss. The term ‘visionary’ gets thrown around quite alot when talking about successful creatives, and rightly so, when we are talking about your ‘Steve Jobs’ types. Of late, I’ve heard a number of times, Kanye West  referred to as a visionary. Now, whilst I can’t deny his enormous musical talent ( I enjoy waiting for his next installments of albums, concerts and features as much as the next person), I feel we have lost sight of what ‘visionary’ actually means. Of course it’s all very subjective and based on opinions, but for me, Alexander McQueen encompasses the whole package of what the term means, and this isn’t strictly limited to his designs. His shows were practically theatre productions, accessories were exuberently embellished, he wholeheartedly lived for the brand; from the designs, to the make up and show concepts, allowing us to somehow unpick, unravel and understand the mind of McQueen. So to celebrate this ultimate visionary, I will leave you with some of his most memorable pieces of footwear that naturally look like pieces of sculpted art work. (and because photography was prohibited at the exhibition GRR!)













Station
South Kensington Underground

Price
£17.50 (adult ticket) concessions vary dependent on the type of tickets.
I bought mine from LoveTheatre

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Alexander McQueen
Victoria and Albert Museum

Notes
Book your tickets in advance to avoid missing out - weekdays in the afternoon are best viewing times. (it's not as busy as the weekends as you can imagine)

Make sure you take advantage of the free Swarovski booklet they hand out while you are waiting in the queue to enter the exhibition.

Make sure you give at least an hour and a half of your time to the exhibition to fully immerse yourself and enjoy it.

Unfortunately photography, sketching and phones were prohibited from the exhibition (they were pretty specific about what wasn't allowed).

Spend some time in the gift shop after the exhibition, I picked up a sketch book for £5 (I just had to) and 3 postcards for £3 which I have already mounted on my wall.



Sophia Webster - Bridal Range






With wedding season well on its way, (I’ve had wedding invitations flying through the door left right and centre for this summer) Sophia Webster has chosen the perfect time to release her new bridal line. They're just perfect! Sophia Webster is most known for her eccentric style so you can only imagine how quirky her bridal shoes look. I have always been a massive fan of her chiara heels so It was inevitable that I’d be in love with her Chiara bridal version to. In true Sophia Webster fashion she has also designed a pair of bright red sling backs that scream individuality and trend factor for the non conventional bride that likes to show her character by the style of her shoes. To top this, all of the shoes (except for the bright red sling backs) have 'Wifey for Lifey' on the soles of the shoes - the essence of Webster's style. So if wedding prep is well under way and your looking for that last, perfect, finishing touch, a pair of Sophia Websters might just be your ticket. The shoes speak for themselves so I will leave you with the bridal line and of course some of the accesories she has designed to.



Chiara Ice - £450


Coco Crystal Ice blue Pump - £395




JoJo Ivory Sandal - £525


Lacey Heaveny Pink Sandal - £575


Lola Gem Ivory Pump - £360


Tyra Crystal Ivory Sling Back £350


Tyra Heart - £395



Happily Ever After - £340



The Boy is Mine - £340


Website

Stockist
Sophia Webster online

Price
£340 - £600 

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In Loving Memory of

S U R E N D R A   M O D I

1962 - 2013



A year ago my mum sister and I held a memorial for my dad 1 year after his death, we asked the guests to write down whatever came to their mind, when they thought about dad - a funny moment, something that stuck with them, (my dad was all about morals and lessons), a golfing memory or something that just made them smile when they thought of him. We have had these notes in the hall way of our house since the memorial and every time we walked past them we couldn't help but read what some of them said, (often making us late for whatever we were doing because we ended up reading far to many of them) - they were so heart warming and helped us enormously with our loss. 

When my dad committed suicide, I remember in the days to follow feeling a whirlwind of emotions, a lot of anger, massive loss and a whole load of guilt, the shock surrounding my dads death made it difficult to see the good memories and his death completely blind sighted the happy memories I had with him. These notes helped us through, to see past his suicide and remember the great and lasting memories everyone had shared with him.

By the end of the memorial and the first year after my dads death we were left with so many notes and messages of condolences, Mum, Krissy and I wanted to share some with you.

In the first year of Dads death, (2013- 2014) we raised a whopping £1,200 - we cannot thank you enough for this kind and generous donation, and after lots of reading, researching and documentary watching, yesterday on the eve of Dads second anniversary we watched an extremely poignant documentary "Life after Suicide" on the BBC which featured a charity funded solely on donations called Maytree. Immediately it caught our attention and decided that this is where we would like to donate a majority of Dads donation, with the rest going to SOBS who helped us enormously in the first year of our grieving process.



 THANK YOU!