Each fashion season, it’s always fun for me to see what the designers do to that shoe part called the heel. Paris Fashion Week tends to bring out the most beautiful and sometimes the most outlandish heels of all the fashion shows and Paris Spring 2009 was no exception. Here’s a quick retrospective of the heels. Which were your favorite?

John Galliano swirly metallic platform shoe

Alexander McQueen amber heel and tornado heel

Miu Miu and the painted wedge with burlap sack bow heel

Lanvin bejeweled heel

Chanel duster heel

Stella McCartney clear chunky heel

Dior fertility goddess heels

YSL and the wireframe heels

My personal favorite was the YSL wireframe heel above.
Photos from Style.com

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After getting over my shock at seeing how downright fabulous Stephanie Seymour (she’s 40!)  and Naomi Campbell (38) looked on the Western themed Hermes Spring 2009 runway, my attention finally turned to the shoes.

Although I couldn’t see much of a tie-in between the Western theme and these art deco shoes by Pierre Hardy, I’m a fan of the Hermes scarf ring-like shoes  - I wonder, can a Hermes scarf be threaded in between the rings? And while I like the narrow platform, I suspect that the height of the heel and the shifting sand runway doesn’t make these models’ job easy to walk in.

More than any other fashion house, Hermes is known for their exotics.  It’s appropriate that these shoes come in lizard skin as well.

Finally, is this the beginning of the Western motif and Hermes equestrian roots coming into play?   Sure, these aren’t riding boots, but I love a versatile slouchy/tall flat boot.

And no cowboy theme would be complete with blue jeans.  But I have to wonder, was Jean Paul Gaultier inspired by Katie Holmes when he jumped on the rolled up jean trend?

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Back in my college days, I would often have second thoughts about my chosen major, computer science & engineering. Although there was never a wait for the bathroom stalls of the engineering building due to the insanely high ratio of male:female in the engineering classes (it was only time in my entire life where the boys had a longer wait time than the girls), more often than not the classes and material weren’t interesting enough to me.

How I wish the professors would have taken a cue from the YSL Spring 2009 runway! In graphics, if I were given an assignment to create a 3-D wireframe of the YSL heels below, I surely would have excelled. In physics, if I were asked to measure the pressure and force exerted on the heel, I would have been a much more devoted student than I was.

School aside, I love the practicality of this shoe. In a season where shoes have been soaring to new heights, it’s downright refreshing to see shoes which dare I say, might actually be walkable? Chunky heels are often too bulky for my tastes, but the thin metal/ lattice work structured heels helped offset the thickness of the heel and help with balance. I’m also a fan of the cage fishnet on the vamp and around the ankle. Toes might accidentally get caught in the netting when putting on the shoe, but the waffle grid lines sure are neat

Images via Style.com

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Ever since viewing the Karl Lagerfeld Spring 2009 RTW photos, I can’t seem to get the theme song from The Jetsons out of my head. The clothing as well as the shoes have that distinct retro-futuristic look that is reminiscent of dozens of 1960’s science fiction movies. There’s definitely a Judy Jetson goes to the dark side vibe going on here.

[Via google images]

The Clothes:

The Shoes:

[Fashion Photos via Style.com & Elle.com]

And, yes, the shoes match quite harmoniously with the clothing presented on the runway. And I rather liked the overall lines and details of this collection. However, I do have my doubts on whether the flared ankle-cuff-cum-lampshade can match harmoniously with a real-life ‘modern’ wardrobe (as opposed to the runway fantasy version of the future seen here). After all, lampshades belong on lamps; anywhere else on your body and you’re likely to be the talk of the party.

So, sing with me:

Meet George Jetson.
His boy Elroy.
Daughter Judy.
Jane, his wife.

See, I can’t stop humming. It’s okay for you to join in, nobody needs to know.

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I have a great and not-so-secret soft spot for Viktor & Rolf.

They play with fashion.  It’s not dour, rarely serious, and NEVER boring.  (Don’t bore Nina, I hear Tim Gunn saying in my head, though never to Viktor Horsting or Rolf Snoeren.)

This season?  Well Shalom Harlow strutted down that runway just as well as—in fact, better than—any of those interchangeable 16 year olds, and proved without a doubt that Viktor & Rolf isn’t “growing up.”

The look was origami gone insane by way of Ziggy Stardust, and no, I wouldn’t opt to wear most of the clothes (except the second dress pictured below… that’s a stunner).  But did I ever smile when each new outfit showed up.

And what shoes graced Ms. Harlow’s feet to compliment that black puff of a dress (which, incidentally, reminded me more than a little of Leanne’s Saturn car materials dress)?  Well, it’s a fairly feminine look for this out-there duo, so it was up to the shoes to save things from becoming too soft.

Rock chic motorcycle gang platforms!

And we didn’t stop there.  Of course.  Oh no.  We had sandals alternately made of mesmerization circles or intricately folded coffee filters (talk about Project Runway innovation challenge success stories!).

And in case all of that would still bore Nina (so sue me, I’ve got PR on the brain today), there were also heels decorated with re-purposed carwash fringe and clearly made up of all the scraps of trim left behind by the designers throughout an entire season of competition.

V&R, I *heart* you.  If it were up to me, I’d hand you a new Saturn Sky Roadster and $100,000 to start your own line, furnished by TRESemmé Professional Hair Care.

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