It’s all in the Details at Versace

Donatella Versace’s dedication of her Mens Spring/Summer 2009 Collection to Barack Obama combined with her much publicized desire to dress Hilary Clinton in more feminine pantsuits might have led excited fashionistas to think a politically-themed RTW line for Versace in Milan seemed imminent. Such was not to be the case. Donatella followed up her successful Mens show with a delicate collection where much of the beauty could be found in the details.

This was definitely one of Versace’s more subtle collections. That is said with some reservation since Versace is never really subtle. It started out with some very cool blacks and whites, then the brights came flooding in, the fabulous geometrics, the zippers. The final pieces had a huge POW! effect. They were gorgeous, multi-colored collage designs featuring the Versace medusa image.

 In the shoes, the shapes, and the accessories, hearts made a huge showing.

The heart zippers led into the zippered footwear:

And bejeweled heels:

There were three pairs of the following shoes in the show. They were unlike the others in that the were wedges with the Versace Medusa logo embedded. Here’s the thing (or things, in this case):

1. They were lucite. I don’t know what to think about think. Chris Rock advises parents to keep their daughters out of Lucite for a very good reason.

2. The front reminded me of a well-known, classic toy which is perfect for expanding dexterity and learning to piece things together (puzzles, life events, outfits, ect), but do they really work in footwear? Check these out and tell me if you note the similarity to the pieces of an erector set. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s uncanny.

So the question is, would you wear these?

Do you see the resemblance? It’s totally there!

And here is the fabled lucite heel:

One finally point. My favorite part of these shoes was….the sole! OK, maybe I am easily amused, but I thought that the yellow soles were awesome. Versace craftily used a mirrored runway to show them off. They perfectly complimented the electric blues and yellows in the show. So you can see now why I called it subtle, right?

Spring 2009 Shoes: Platforms, Platforms, and more Platforms

As the onslaught of fashion shows continue, it wasn’t just my eyebrows which were raised when I saw how tall the shoe platforms were. Here’s a quick look-see.

The Japanese inspired spring collection over at Basso & Brooke brought an array of colorful prints, the highest of the platforms I’ve seen thus far for spring 2009, and obi belts that I’m dying to own. As if to signify that the heels were as tall as trees, birds and flowers were nesting on the heel.

Gucci‘s spring ’09 collection bought forth buckles, metallic trimming, and bold colors on top of platform heels.

Marni Spring 2009 shoes featured interesting striped knee high socks an array of colorful platform shoes.

D&G Spring 2009 got patriotic in red, white, and blue nautical theme clunky platform wedges.

Bottega Veneta incorporated their classic weave pattern into the platform wedge and heels. Compared to other runways, the platforms looks downright walkable.

And finally, Burberry Prorsum picked up the platform trend in autumn colors and ice-pick like heels.

Prada Spring 2009 RTW Shoes: Shoe Covers and Stilettos

What does Miuccia Prada’s spring 2009 sky high shoes remind me of?

Shoe covers. Seriously, don’t these look like the shoe covers which doctors wear into the operating room or the disposable covers you are asked to put on before entering a model home?

No? What about no show loafer socks like the ones below? But in Prada’s case, they are mean to be seen.

Hmm, now where did I put my no show socks.  I will have to give this a try.

On a completely divergent topic, the ready-to-wear collection appears to be, um, not so ready to wear. From WWD,

The mile-high platforms strapped on over what appeared to be Prada’s take on Peds might have been impressive, had half of the girls not had major trouble walking and thus looked absolutely petrified.

And here’s evidence of the tumble. Seriously, taking an inch or two off the heel would by no means distract from the beautiful shoes. Plus, these models already stand tall on their own.

Photos via Style.com and Coutorture.com

Red Carpet Shoes at the 2008 Emmys

The 60th Annual Emmys were on last weekend. For me, the show itself was lackluster. The only memorable highlights I can recommend were Josh Groban’s medley of TV tunes, Ricky Gervais’s banter with deadpan Steve Carell, and the main reason why I tune in, the fashion.

Long gowns are always a problem when trying to spot the shoes on the red carpet but there were a few exceptions which we can write about.

There were no signs of ‘Ugly Betty’ as America Ferrera wore black lace pumps similiar to these by Rene Caovilla, $564 at BlueFly. I love the the Veronica Lake hairstyle.

Mary Louis Parker from ‘Weeds’ wore 3 1/2″ Giuseppe Zanotti Design pumps with Swarovski crystals, $754 at Zappos.

Lisa Edelstein from ‘House’ wore the same YSL Tribute Two platform pumps which Jennifer Lopez wore to fashion week. Personally, I like the shoes on J Lo better. Yes, I am role stereotyping, but I have a hard time imagining Dr. Lisa Cuddy walking around in these.

Eva Longoria wore classic, pointy toed Stuart Weitzman heels to the Emmys. The bow detail on her Marchesa dress is so intricate, I think it’s great that she chose simple shoes so they don’t distract from the dress.

Another star who kept it simple was ‘Closer’ Kyra Sedgwick in Jasmine Jimmy Choos, $495 at NetAPorter.

What what would an award show be without Louboutin shoes making an appearance. Louboutin’s patent 5″ pumps were worn by both Heidi Klum and Hayden Panettiere

Special thanks to SoapNet for great shoe spotting and coverage

Photos courtesy of: Celebutopia.net

Y-3 Wedge: Would you wear it?

I’ve found another interesting shoe that I can’t stop staring at. This is not necessarily a good thing. This is almost a backwards-heel a la Marc Jacobs. At the same time, it is almost an Ice Skate gone horribly wrong.

So, I ask, would you wear it?

The Phasma 90 Stretch Wedge by Y-3.
($495 $299 sale at eluxury.com)