SHOE of the WEEK

SAM EDELMAN - YATES






I have been crushing over these shoes ever since I pinned them to the High Heels High Hopes 'Prints' Pinterest board. I love a good print on shoes as its a quick way to jazz up any outfit. Olivia Palermo my all time favourite style icon does this regularly not with just her clothes but her shoes too - be it ballerina pumps or high heels. The Yates are very versatile and I tend to find tribal prints  stay as a classic staple for the summer wardrobe. Embellishment and beading always adds the touch of luxury and authenticity. I just love them!
BESPOKE SHOEMAKER  

CAROLINE GROVES










Bespoke shoe making has become some what of an obsession of mine since starting to learn the craft about 6 months ago. I have become hyper aware of footwear designers, you name it and I have probably heard of it. Of all the types of footwear designers I have come across the most interesting to me have been the bespoke shoemakers. The sad thing however is that they are very rarely commended for their craft unless they become commercial, completely eradicating the very idea of 'bespoke'. If some of you managed to order the books I recommended in my last post you will come to learn that Jimmy Choo started off as a bespoke shoemaker and only became famous for his shoes when partnered with Co Founder Tamara Mellon where the designs were made more commercially viable. HOWEVER lucky for us there are still a few bespoke shoemakers going strong one being Caroline Groves. Her 10 minute clip in a piece of film I watched at the Pleasure and Pain exhibition has completely inspired me. In the era of fast fashion, Caroline Groves comes as a (very much needed) breathe of fresh air.

Her designs are most importantly bespoke, and of course for that reason extremely unique yet bursting with character. Groves has sustained a thriving business through great design and larger than life clients which are reflected through her shoes, that cross the boundaries of Art Fashion and fantasy. Recognised by Vogue and major fashion houses around the world her 20 years of experience have not only put her in good stead but completely set her apart from even todays 'it' designers. Celebrated as one of the best bespoke shoe makers in the world its no wonder that her business continues to grow and inspire.




BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS






Ever thought about how some of our favourite brands have become household names? The Jimmy Choo Story does just that. It talks about the rise and rise of the one footwear brand that every woman in fashion desires for their shoedrobe. The former Chief Creative Officer and co founder of Jimmy Choo Tamara Mellon has also released a great book about her creative endeavours and experiences on her time in the most influential seat of the largest footwear fashion houses in the industry. In My Shoes - A Memoir covers all the gossip you could wish for with a 15 year library of trials and tribulations; the time it took to build up the brand.

Both great books that are available for a reasonable price on Amazon. A must read for ladies intrigued by the journey, the success of a strong and powerful minded lady with a great vision. If you loved Sex and The Cities these books are totally for you! 

SHOE of the WEEK

Elina Linardaki - FRIDA







Talk about happy feet right? They are totally adorable and just perfect for the summer. The first flat pair of sandals to feature in shoe of the week and its pretty obvious why! The colours and tassels are what first drew me towards these beauties and then on a closer look the pom poms and charms that dangle off the lace up sandals.  I can't picture these with anything else but a plain white (or black) flowy midi or culottes (which are huge at the moment) to make the sandals pop and instantly jazz up your outfit.



Acrylic X Perspex X Jelly




However you like to call them - I call them plastic shoes, have taken the world by storm and won't be leaving your wardrobes any time soon. So with this in mind I thought I'd bring to your attention the mother of all shoes plastic - Melissa. You'll probably be thinking who? but you're most likely to think 'ohhhhhhhh' when I tell you that these shoe makers were the ones  behind the  collaboration with Vivienne Westwood in 2008 with her infamous rubber slingback and ballet pumps.  A Brasilian brand that has expanded world wide and that are set to have another great season since the heavily featured acrylics, bondage and perspex  in footwear and accessories in the February shows. They land some great collaborations and their campaigns are bright and fun. They have a great eye for knowing whats on trend and also seem to get away with using matt appearing rubber surfaces to create that extra edge. Go check them out while you can there are some great offers on at the moment that would be silly to miss!







SHOES 
PLEASURE AND PAIN

V&A






So a couple weeks back my lovely boss treated the ICMS team to the Shoes Pleasure and Pain exhibition at the V&A - it was nothing short of inspiring. The collection was pretty amazing and the short films were fab. The most memorable part of the exhibition was watching the short films on how 5 renowned designers (Manolo Blahnik, Sandra Choi of Jimmy Choo, Caroline Groves, Marc Hare and Christian Louboutin) within the footwear industry deal with the specific elements of the design process. Most of their responses within this 12 minute clip explored in my opinion the ever changing relationships with technology, either with design (using CAD as to the old fashioned way of using pen and paper) or even the manufacturing process. Caroline Groves in particular relished in the fact that bespoke shoe making allowed her to take complete control of the making process using only a sewing machine in her kitchen to complete a beautifully custom made pair of shoes. In comparison other designers almost felt eternally indebted to their manufactures and worked meticulously together to recreate the exact design that was initially conceived from a sketch or CAD design. The exhibition brought together all of these components, including a brief history in footwear all the way to shoes in the present, that have completely changed the way shoes have been designed and made.

V&A Museum
£12 entry
South Kensington Tube Station



SHOE OF THE WEEK


GUZEL - FIONA KOTUR


Tassels, snake skin and some sparkle - what is there not to love about these Fiona Kotur shoes? She has done exceptionally well making the move from accessories into footwear. I'm loving the colours and of course the tassels, they are also available in a grey version which are just as amazing and maybe more subtle. Check out her website for the shoes and her clutch bags, she has just released a new bag thats pretty nifty in that it allows you to take pictures with your phone while its still placed in your bag!



F - Kotur
SIMMI SHOES





So festival season is well underway and the only problem I ever have with getting ready for it (given I love wearing heels) is finding the right footwear. So why not head to Simmi Shoes for your festival footwear and while you're at it get in with the chance to win two tickets to LOVE BOX this Saturday? (information on how to enter the competition is on their Instagram page  but  unfortunately the date of when the winner will be announced hasn't be set yet. grr - so just keep your Saturday free if you enter!)  They have a huge range, from   cute tassel booties, flatforms and even jelly shoes all perfect for the festival season. If thats not enough to tickle your fancy check out the affordable prices that these shoes go for - you'll soon be making Simmi Shoes your first stop shop every year for festival season!







Port de Pollença

A little photo diary of my recent trip to Port de Pollença in the Balaeric Island of Mallorca (or Majorca to us Brits). Most of the pictures were taken by my budding photographer boyfriend on his professional cannon camera, and the others were taken on my measly phone which doesn't have as great a quality. (you'll notice these will be the pictures of the  inevitably popular espadrilles in Spain) Under some of the photos I've put a bit more detail describing what I'm wearing and what's been photographed..... TAAAKKKKEEE ME BACKKKK!


Day1: 36 degrees, a light breeze, crystal clear water and a sun bed was all we needed.


Found these awesome weaved sliders which I now regret not buying :(


Night out on the town and found these super edgy animal print espadrilles - obviously had to get a snap (photo taken on my phone so I'm sorry for the quality)


Evening strolls were my fave; espadrilles were obviously the go to - these sparkly peacock numbers caught my eye! (photo taken on my phone so I'm sorry for the quality)


Cap De Formentor


Cap De Formentor


Mountain X Sea


My favourite shot by the boyfriend from the Cap De Formentor


Shoes: Wedges from Zara - turned me into a giant!




Calvari Steps


Panoramic of the view from the top of the Calvari Steps




Team Shot!


Cala St Vincente - saw the hugest waves I have ever seen!


Dinner Time: French Connection dress that I've had for years and haven't got the heart to get rid of, and of course those Zara wedges


My mums vintage jumpsuit (she wore this in her 20s and I will never let her throw it away) Zara tribal print sandals.


can't get enough of the heels!



Silvia Fado



Since deciding to leave any possible career in architecture behind it has been rearing its head every so often just to let me know its here to stay and will forever be part of my academic history. Amazingly it has cropped up in the most interesting of areas - footwear. I have a major soft spot for designs and designers/architects that have dabbled in footwear and Silvia Fado is just that; hugely inspired by architecture and knitwear and passionate about footwear.

Fado's latest collection 'Kinetic Traces' looks at the way the body moves, along with fashion design and high performance sports footwear. With fashion footwear often pretty to look at but not so comfy to wear Fado is exploring the relationship between functional and high end fashion footwear. Her designs are fantastic and have some great elements that really make you want to look closer at the design. Fado graduated at London college of fashion so for all you budding footwear designers Fado is a great example of what you could accomplish following a career in footwear.














Shoe of the Week

JANE CULT

'SHANIA'




A bit of a double whammy here, I've chosen the 'Shania' shoe by Jane Cult for two reasons; one reason is pretty obvious - how cute are these sandals? Lace up sandals are totally in and at the bargain price of £27.99 you can't go wrong. The second reason I chose these shoes was to introduce new brand Jane Cult. Their website only launched yesterday so there are some great introductory deals so I would suggest heading over there as soon as possible to take advantage of them. (There is an extra 10% off your first purchase with discount code 'yay10'). These particular shoes are also available in black and nude and the range of shoes on the site are on bang on trend and affordable - I just love them! Give them a quick follow on Instagram (its where I saw the extra10% off) as they're always updating with new content and new styles - so why not be one of the first ones to say your wearing Jane Cults? - Join the cult!!