Skins is the company behind the much discussed two part footwear structure consisting of the Bone, which offers the orthopedic support, and the Skin, an interchangeable shell that a wearer can easily swap out. Shoeblog recently had an opportunity to conduce an e-interview with Mark Klein, CEO and Founder of Skins Footwear.

We love the idea of interchangeable Skins and wish we had thought of this concept
ourselves. How and where did you come up with the idea for Skin and Bones?

It was about people. It was about offering an experience in footwear that can be personalized, customized, and ergonomic to the consumer. I saw and see this theme playing out in many different industries. Ranging from the auto industry with Toyota Scion and Smart Car, to TIVO’s and IPOD’s, to watches and sunglasses with interchangeable lenses and bands. When I looked down at a friends shoe and noticed he had about 8-10 pairs of the same shoe in a different color the idea really gelled. But I did not want to stop at color, I wanted a base that would always be compelling to come back to - a Bone with a constant fit and feel that is always comfortable and accompanying Skins that range in color, materials and styles to fit almost any occasion. The complete package would need to be collapsible, interchangeable and portable. Allowing the consumer to really pack multiple Skins on the go for any purpose they need. The name Skins denotes a persons ability to keep ’skinning their bones’ with a different look. The bone is the fit, the structure and the skeleton to for the Skin. Each part is roughly 50% of a normal shoe.

How is the Bone secured to the Skin?

Simply by a pressure fit. The Bones and Skins were made to go together. No zippers, fasteners, buttons or locking mechanisms. Simply insert Bone into Skin, the Skins build out into a shoe and put your feet in and you are ready to go.

Since all feet were not created equal (high arch, normal arch, flat feet), will there be different Bones available?

We currently offer a Bone that fits a multitude of different types of feet. With the bones accompanying 2 pairs of foot-beds (each pair sized differently) and the ability to wear the Bone without the foot-beds, all of these options allow the wearer to really find the variable fit that makes the most sense for them. In addition we will be releasing Bones that at some point will be made to fit the specific foot of its wearer. A truly customized fitting Bone.

What does the future hold for Skins and Bones? Any hope for females that prefer wedges or pumps?

We are currently in development with a myriad of different bones ranging from high-heel, to performance and childrens.

We’ve seen the commercials and photos of Skins but tell us a bit about the man behind Skins.

What is the single biggest contributor to your success?

Dogged stubbornness

What shoes are you wearing right now? Any pictures?

None, I’m barefoot in my hotel room.

In your book, what is the most important feature for a shoe? Is it comfort or style?

I would have to say that both are very important to me. I won’t wear a comfortable shoe that is ugly, but I also wont wear a stylish shoe that is not.

Outside of Skins, what are you favorite pair of shoes?

It would be a tie between my chucks and my bottegas

What are the most expensive pair of shoes you’ve ever owned?

My Bottega slip ons. Nice and expensive.

Interested in Skins Footwear? The shoes are finally available in select retail stores. They can also be purchased online at SportieLA and FootWear Etc .

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The shows just keep on coming, and the shoes just keep on making statements.

The newest crop of designer shows in Milan includes some of the heavy hitters of the fashion world (Dolce&Gabbana, Pucci, Versace, and Fendi among others).

And what have they brought us?

Well, Dolce&Gabbana have won my award for best use of ”arts and crafts” styling with several variations on this brocading technique that I love.

They’ve also done a lot of patent leather snakeskin, which I’m less nuts about.

Pucci has brought out more designs with that gimp-like robe element.  I imagine we’ll be seeing a fair amount of that come Spring 2008 shoes, since it’s showing up in lots of places on the runways.  Can’t say I love that look overall, but I do love these shoes!  Candy colored Pucci deliciosity!

Versace continues with the glam/luxe a-little-over-the-top style they’re known for.  My fave shoe from their show?  This one in a pretty pretty kelly green.

Fendi seems to have put all of their models in variations on this shoe, which I almost love, but then just at the last minute, my love veers off into great disgust.  So close, yet so far.

But at least this model’s feel look like they might be escaping the runway mostly unscathed.  Unlike some of the other girls’ feet we’ve seen on the catwalks.

And speaking of models’ feet in danger, Dsquared wins my award for Worst Fitting Shoe on the Runway.

It’s a shame, because the shoe itself is quite lovely to look at.  But that poor model looks like she’s a second away from falling completely out of that shoe.  Her heel’s going to slip down that steep slope of an arch and her toes are going to slide of that front platform (look they’re already halfway there) and she’s going to fall on her face!

But Dsquared is also in my bad books for this not-so-sexy accessory.

 OK, sure, a lot of models smoke.  That doesn’t make it any better for them.  And putting it up on the runway certainly doesn’t encourage young girls to smoke in order to be sexy, does it?  No!  Of course not!  Sort of ironic timing, since America’s Next Top Model (for my money, the best crappy reality show out there) just aired an ep where they did ”before and after” shots about the effects of smoking and then declared the season a non-smoking one.  Oh, Tyra.  What a daring and innovative statement you make that no one has made before you.

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Shoe-wise, I know it is difficult to concentrate on anything but the gorgeous footwear featured on the Milan runway this week, but why don’t we do just that for a few minutes.

MBT (short for Masai Barefoot Technology) is a fitness shoe brand that I’ve been eying for a while now (they’ve been on the market since the 90s and has really taken the fitness shoe market by storm). The shoes were created after studying the Masai tribe from East Africa. Karl Muller, the inventor of MBT, observed that because the Masai walked on soft, instable ground, they were forced to use their body to maintain balance. This balancing act, apparently, is good for strengthening core muscles and promotes good posture. To simulate walking on a soft surface such as sand or soft moss, Karl created the MBT shoe line with a rounded, curved sole to force the wearer to balance themselves like the members of Masai.

Now, regular readers of this shoe blog will know that we love the comfortable AND stylish shoe. Sadly, although Zappos MBT reviews, Epinions ratings, and even MBT shoe reviews on our Shoe Forum (thanks VanMiracle!) have been nothing short of excellent with reports of improved back problems, toning of the body, etc, early versions of the MBT shoe line left much to be desired in the looks department.

See what I mean? In the past, I’ve allowed concessions for shoes that aren’t visually appealing if they were comfortable or healthy, but the early styles were so ugly they were real deal breakers for me.

Fast forward to 2007, I’m happy to report that MBT footwear is evolving. Now, while they still aren’t as stylish as say Nike, Adidas, or Puma, these photos certainly prove that they are catching up.

MBT M. Walk at Shoes.com for $245

MBT Chapa

MBT Kaya

MBT Kaya - cute mary-janes, no?

Now that the style quotient has been upped, combined with the numerous health benefits, I am definitely sold on giving MBT shoes a try.

And if you are wondering why you haven’t seen most of the above MBT models in your local comfort shoe store, that’s because the shoes are from the Spring 2008 shoe line. They simply aren’t available for purchase just yet (darn, I know!). Just to taunt us further, I leave you with even more detailed sneak peaks of MBT’s spring line.

MBT Staka (left), MBT Staka (right)

MBT Staka

MBT Kaya

MBT Chapa

Many thanks to the great PR folks at MBT for the photos.

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The standout shoe creations continue in Milan. Again, I offer up prayers of thanks to the fashion gods (who would that be? Coco Chanel? Marie Antoinette? Oleg Cassini?) that the Italian shows are providing truly unique footwear for our amusement.

This multi-material geometric sky-high wedge showed up at both Alberta Ferretti (in a design I quite like)

and Roberto Cavalli (in a design I both love–that little metallic accent on the back of the heel and the buckle–and HATE–all the rest of the shoe).

Maurizio Pecoraro kept alive the gimp-enhanced shoe style that we saw yesterday from Alessandro dell’Acqua.

And Gucci brought a new color into play: bubblegum pink.

But also this shoe, which, taken out of the context of runway fashion, looks like something you’d order out of a hobble fetishist catalogue. That heel must be 6 inches high. Ouch!

Keep the interesting shoes coming, Italy!

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Thank goodness Milan Fashion Week Spring 2008 is providing us with some more interesting out there shoes than New York did. Leave it to the creative Italian shows to do it up right. Nothing tops the Prada creations Shoesense posted about, but there have certainly been some other unique shoes so far. Alessandro dell’Acqua seems to be taking some inspiration from the tight-laced traditional Japanese kimono look (he also has a whole lot of obi belts in his collection that I love), including an elaborate version of the okobo or geta.

La Perla also goes for the ethnic touch, but this time with a sort of pseudo-wild-animal-in-the-bush feathers and snakeskin approach.

But Missoni is my favorite (well, my favorite for style, not for creativity) with this not-so-ethnic but oh-so-pretty chunky sandals that are a sort of hybrid of wedges and pumps (wumps).

Bellissima!

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