Decade of Shoe Trends – 2009

In 2009, technology helped the designers create unusual, light weight shoes that supported two inch platforms, 6 inch heels, a hole through the heel, and elaborate shapes.  The styles also prompted a cry from editors who said shoe heights were simply too extreme and called designers to lower their heels.  We’ll see how that works out.

Ralph Lauren showed us something practical.  Actually, we were already wearing what he featured.  Wooden soled platforms.  Still very nice.

Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein played with the heels.  Dior did the same kind of thing the year before, but Calvin Klein went a bit further.  I think we discussed this heel at length, maybe in the forum, ultimately deciding it was not a good looking shoe.

Alexander McQueen took the sandal/boot hybrid idea and presented a couple of designs that took me about a year to appreciate. (Remember they show their designs abour 6 months earlier than the actual season.) When I showed Mr. R5 my new sandals that are similar to the ones below, he asked if the maker died before he could finish. 

McQueen also introduced his amber line.  If my checking account allowed it, I would purchase these boots and wear them everyday. Well, maybe not everyday.

Lagerfield played with the heels in some of his shoes at Chanel.  I don’t get it.

Prada featured some platforms that at first glance didn’t seem too high, but the models kept slipping and falling during their presentation.  Most suspect it was the odd little black hospital bootie things that created the problem. 

My favorite from this collection is below.  When they went on sale at Saks I looked at them a long time.  Too long, someone bought my size. 

John Galliano played with shape and color for Dior’s Couture line and his own John Galliano collection.   An editor (I can’t find the reference now.) said these shoes were an engineering wonder because the materials were strong enough to support the force of walking, yet still be light weight enough to walk in them.

Valentino also played with it’s heel embellishments.  The designers are new so I have my Valentino crush back. 

2009 was a tough year for fashion. 2009 was a tough year for virtually everyone.  Christian Lacroix presented his last collection.  Quite a few young shoe lines had to close their business.  Let’s hope that the next decade improves for everyone.

Happy Birthday Diane von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg will celebrate her birthday with 63 candles on her cake.  Diane is interesting because in 1969 she married Prince Egon of Furstenberg, making her a princess. (When they divorced, I think she no longer qualified as a princess.)  When she married Egon, she decided she did not want to be a “plain little girl who married beyond her desserts.”  In 1970 she began designing women’s clothing, hitting a design home-run with a wrap dress in 1973. I had the Vogue pattern for that dress and made about three dresses.

I also had the same dress leave me half dressed when the tie came undone.

Here are some Diane von Furstenberg shoes to admire.

Dock $160 to $200 AT Zappos

Rand $460 at Zappos

Zia $284 at Zappos

I think I will carefully wear my wrap dress for tonight’s party to celebrate.

REMINDER: Today is the last day to enter the ShoeBlog Holiday Giveaway.  We are giving away a $150 and $50 gift certificate to Zappos, Endless, or Amazon.

Decade of Shoe Trends – 2008

I am sorry this posting was late.  My mother wanted me to take her to DSW and I can’t deny my mother a pair of shoes, right?  Who am I fooling? I wanted to go, too.

The defining description for shoes featured in 2008 runway collections is: snubbed toes.  Alexander McQueen has covered platforms, a very high, very thin heel and a little metal plate on the toe.  I remember seeing a photo of Charlize Theron wearing a pair of these.  They were beautiful then, beautiful now, but this style seems to have disappeared.  I think they are as wonderful as the pointy toes of 2001. 

Alexander McQueen also played around with cutouts, quilting and embelishments.

We also saw a hybridization of pumps and booties.  Alexander McQueens are shown above, and here is Prada’s.  These are difficult to see, but I think they have about a 7 inch shaft.

Prada also played around with chunky heels and chunky platforms.  Remember what I said about Galliano being a few steps ahead in my 2007 post?  This reinforces my guess that we will be buying this silhouette in about 5 years.  It is going to take me 5 years to reconcile myself to the idea that wearing something from my high school wardrobe is a good thing.  *Shudder*

Marc Jacob featured buckles and more buckles, without an ultra high heel.  I really like these boots.  Notice the snubbed toe.   

Calvin Klein featured covered wedge boots.  We now see that EVERYWHERE.   Still nice. 

Calvin Klein played with the wedge heels, John Galliano played with the size of heels.  He has a squared toe, although not as extreme as McQueens, and very high.  The heel is chunky, and sits way back on the foot.  Both pumps below are absolutely gorgeous, but look really awkward. I am not convinced that they would be easy to walk in.  Something that did translate to the masses is decorating the heels. 

Valentino Garavani retired after the 2007 season.  The shoes featured in Valentino’s 2008 Couture were not wonderful, but I noticed Dior began playing with heel and shoe silhouettes in their couture line.  Super high, platformed and has the shape of so many ankle boots of today. 

If I could meet one designer for lunch, it would probably be John Galliano.  Actually, I would rather be at the table next to him so I could just watch him.

Vionnet by Rodolfo Paglialunga: Spring 2010

I can’t even contain how excited I have been over the re-emergence of the Vionnet fashion house and clothing line after a production break of over 60 years.

Photo c/o Amazon.com from Bettye Kirke’s amazing survey of Madeleine Vionnet’s work.

As a sewing and design enthusiast who has been tweaking patterns for almost two decades, I still stand in awe and amazement at the achievements and impact of this talented designer who generally insisted that she was ‘just a dressmaker’ – although, in her later years she was a touch less modest about her accomplishments.

Madeleine Vionnet introduced the fashion world to the Bias Cut in the 1920′s – and fashion has truly never been the same.  The liquidity and movement that fabric achieves when cut on the bias angle has particular design and sewing challenges; but the results of an expertly produced bias garment are visually stunning garments that move with the body, disguise figure flaws, and exude sensuality.  In addition, many of the styles that came out of this technique still feel wearable and fresh today; not a small feat. 1920′s to 1940′s Hollywood glamour as well as many modern designers, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Madeleine Vionnet’s ‘simple dressmaking’.

So, does this second 2010 Vionnet collection live up to it’s rather prestigious roots? For the most part, yes. Perhaps the main thing the new House of Vionnet needs to keep in mind is the challenge of how to keep true to the Vionnet roots while producing styles with a modern sensibility that will integrate into modern women’s lives and wardrobes.

Model photos c/o style.com

The clothing presented (originally shown on mannequins) for Spring 2010 have all of the basics one would expect of a modern collection that (logically) must incorporate the bias and draping techniques introduced by it’s founder if they expect to be known as the House of Vionnet.

But, while fresh, the offerings do not feel completely new. Others designers such as Issey Miyake have been traveling this path in Vionnet’s absence, using bias and draping techniques with a completely modern flair for some time now.

While this collection is modern and it’s roots in Madeleine Vionnet’s original works are apparent, it seems the new Vionnet (led by Rodolfo Paglialunga) is still finding it’s identity – one that is not wholly Madeleine’s, but neither owing anything to the many other talented designers who have advanced the craft of bias and draping in the Vionnet house’s absence. I look forward to watching this process occur.

As for what many of you are really waiting to see more about, the shoes? They were feminine, embellished, and full of all the glamour I normally associate with Hollywood’s golden age and the sensual romance of Vionnet’s film designs.

(photos c/o Obsessed with Shoes)

No news yet on just how painful to the pocketbook Vionnet’s shoes will be priced, or where they will be retailed.

And yes, I would love to have one of those draped tulip skirts (and obviously, that royal blue dress it to die for).

More Vionnet articles available here,  here, and here. And an interview with Rudolfo Paglialunga.

Badgley Mischka Reversible Sequin Pump

For New Year’s Eve, how about this TWO-IN-ONE sparkler from Badgley Mischka, the Platinum Reversible Humbie Pump, now reasonably sale priced at $129?  It’s the ideal party shoe – fun, glitsy, and when you are done with one side, reverse it and have everyone thinking you are wearing a brand new shoe.  This is available in the black/silver combo as shown above or the shiny navy/silver look below.

And since it is being sold by Endless, you still have time to order the Humbie pump today and with free overnight shipping,  have the shoes arrive at your doorstep in time for that New Year’s Eve party you will be attending.

REMINDER: Tomorrow is the last day to enter the ShoeBlog Holiday Giveaway.  We are giving away a $150 and $50 gift certificate to Zappos, Endless, or Amazon.