FENTY x PUMA

So this happened!!! On Monday in Paris Riri released the next instalment of footwear of her collaboration with Puma, and in true Rihanna form it totally KICKED ASS!! Now my favourites had to be the boots worn beautifully by one of my fave models Leomie Anderson, against a library scene and locker backdrop. Rihanna was sure to be playful with her plaids and school uniform collection and she couldn't have pulled it off any better. This collaboration has been going for 3 seasons now and shows no signs of stopping, FENTY X PUMA is a match made in heaven. Go on have a scroll!

5 boots to get you through the cold

If like me the cold weather is something you do everything to stay away from - leggings under jeans, vest tops, thermals, doubling up on jumpers, thick coat, scarf and finally a pom pom hat then boots must be a staple in your shoe closet for the cold months. Today I round up 5 boots that will help you get through the blistering cold - some that may be a splurge and some that you could probably get away with buying in every colour!

Primark: £22

Alexander Wang £565

Zara £15.99 (sale)

Jimmy Choo £348

Forever 21 £35

Embroidery Eruption!

If you havn't noticed already - the seasons most sort after shoes are the baroque or embroidered style of choice. At the last Lineapelle expo I attended in London, this trend by far was the most appealing to me and seemed like the trend to dominate next seasons shoe drobe! I have gathered up my favourite embroidered booties and shoes  for the winter wardrobe for you to feast your eyes on.(wohooooo I can go back to wearing all black and let the boots do all the talking!)

Alexander McQueen 'Leather- trimmed emroidered velvet loafers - £725

Aquazzura 'Alix' -  £445

Sam Edelman 'Taye' - £140

Top Shop 'Kobra' - £39

Asos 'Emillia' - £50

Kat Maconie 'India' - £81 (sale)

Jamie Okuma

So the 10 day challenge is going really well, I'm really happy with the way the designs and patterns are turning out and its really nice to be spending so much time at the studio, but today since its the bank holiday I thought I'd take the time out to talk about Jamie Okuma. The thing I love most about shoe making is the process, I always think the longer the process the more care that is taken over them and this couldn't ring more true with Jamie Okumas work on these amazing hand beaded boots. These aren't the only shoes she has worked on, she has a range of footwear with the beading embelished, taking inspiration from the native indian culture. The beading work is exquisite and is such a great skill to have along with bags of patience. Head over to her website and instagram for more on all the projects she has worked on /working on!

10 Day Shoe Making challenge

On Monday I set my self a 10 day challenge (Monday to Friday for two weeks) to design and make a collection. Last week I came out of an intensive 4 day course that helped me with the numbers side of my business, and off the back of that motivation I decided that doing a challenge where I'm able to make 5/6 pairs of shoes in 10 days would not only help me understand the intricacies of my business better but also give me good training. I've found that I'm always on a busy schedule with either modeling, assisting on courses or blogging that I have less time for actually making, life admin seems to take over and before you know it I'm back at Monday again with only half made shoes. So the next two weeks have been wiped completely clean and I WILL be making. The first two stages are mood boarding and designing, and thats what I've been up to for the first few days of this challenge. I love mood boarding there is something therapeutic about cutting sticking and arranging, I mean who doesn't like flipping through an endless amount of magazines or pinning on Pinterest? So here are my initial stages of mood boarding and designing, I'm not sure if I'm necessarily sticking to the colours I have picked out on the board as I want to use the leathers I already have to save me from wasting time and money at leather stores (which can easily take up a day and hefty wedge of cash) so with this in mind the collection will be designed around the leathers I already have in stock.

Rihanna X Manolo Blahnik

Denim Desserts by Rihanna

A collaboration that is bound to be an instant sell out is my prediction. I couldn't think of a better partnership, for me there has a been an undercurrent of adoration thats been slowly picking up pace since the release of her song Work, and you simply can't do wrong when you have the god of heels by your side designing your collection. The collection is made up of 6 pieces, aptly named Denim Desserts by Rihanna since the uppers are made from - yep you've guessed it, denim! They are set to be released on May 5th and available in Manolo's London, New York, and Hong Kong stores.

The showstoppers!

Zara - Clogs and Boots

I have an addiction! and yes its Shoes, and more specifically an addiction with the clothing brand Zara. I have always loved the idea of affordable on trend fashion which not only has good quality but also great value of money. Zara always offers that and much more - eternal shoe satisfaction! Head over to the High Heels High Hopes youtube channel to see the clogs and boots I managed to bag myself!

Depop @madebykirenmodi 

 

Instagram has now become my first port of call when looking for inspiration for footwear and clothing, stylists are all over instagram taking over my explore page one amazing outfit at a time. Of late I have started noticing a caption or a tag with 'Depop'. It didn't take long for me to figure out that this was a smart app that enabled you to sell your clothing at a click of a finger. (basically a more trendy version of eBay for fashion clothing). In true Kiren fashion I ignored or rather refused to download another app for selling items of clothing since I was put off from selling on Ebay because of a few irritating experinences, but mostly because of how long winded it was to upload items on there. But after much deliberation and persuasion by some great sellers on Depop (@heartfeltink - she has some great items on there you have to check her out) I decided why not? since it went hand in hand with the leather items I have been making recently. Then it dawned on me (while I was flicking through different profiles) that I should also use it as an outlet to put my clothing and most importantly my footwear. I get through an obscene amount of shoes, simply because I love shoes, and because I like to stay on trend with the current seasons footwear, but this also meant that I was left with a load of shoes that were barely worn or still had tags on them, so Depop in actual fact has come to the rescue! So my Depop is now live!! Feel free to have a little gander, there will be a mix of hand made leather items by me along with footwear and vintage clothing - Happy Shopping!

A section of my Shoedrobe

Zara and Primark Shoe Haul

Watch a little run down of the shoes I bought at the Zara Sale and a pair of bonus leather boots from Primark for just £10 here!

Zara high heel boots - DIY (upcycle)

I bought these boots about 2 years ago, in fact I bought two pairs of the same boots from Zara simply because (as I mentioned in Mondays post) I find it so difficult to find boots to fit my ankles. Its safe to say these boots have had their time, I wear them practically everywhere because they are comfy have a thick enough heel to wear them for the day - I just can't let go of them UNTIL I find a new pair. My search however for new boots however has been less than fruitful. So I thought hmmm I work with leather and shoes all the time there must be something I can do to bring them back to life. I assessed my boot situation and figured that with a bit of the right polish and a little touch up with the right leather at the front they could look as good as new. I figured that I also wouldn't be the only person with this problem, so I took pictures along the way. Heres how I did it...

1

I found some leather I had laying around from my mountain of leather that I've collected over the last year - I chose something quite thick to brave the wear and tear. I decided where the boot needed a cover up - the leather at the front of my boots had worn away so I decided that would be the best place to start. I measured the width and length I'd need to cover and cut the leather accordingly.

 2

I wanted a curved finish on the ends of the piece of leather so that when they are placed on the shoe the overall look felt whole, to do this I marked half way through the piece which was approximately 3cm along and then I marked 1 centimetre from the end. From the one centimetre mark I drew a curved line to the  bottom corner. I then cut this with a clicking knife. (a craft knife works just as well) I then folded this over at the centre mark to make sure I have the same curve on the other half. Remember to make a second one for the other shoe!

3

Using the centre marks on the two pieces of leather, with a silver pen lightly draw around the leather pieces on the shoe, so you know where they are going to be placed and where you need to put the shoe glue. This particular glue is used especially for shoes and is a contact adhesive so remember to glue both surfaces to get a solid bond. Before sticking them together, leave both surfaces to dry for 10 minutes so that they can get tacky, then just simply attach the leather to the shoe using the silver markings you made earlier to guide them into the right place.

 

...and there done, a clean with a suede brush and polish will finish them off perfectly!