Shoe blog

London Fashion Week Round Up

It’s only fitting that on this, the last day of London Fashion Week, I offer up a summary of what we’ve seen here on this side of the Pond.  The British shows are always full of a bit more cheek than the sleek-n-chic American ones, and this year was no exception.

There was lots of 80s look and playful mixing of vintage and space-age styling or traditional shapes in up-to-the-minute materials (or vice versa).

Take, for example, the Vivienne Westwood Red Label show.  She twisted the idea of the brogue and the riding boot with fanciful curlicues and pops of color, and then used some beautiful, Baroquian damasks in various contemporary styles.

The Eley Kishimoto collection was chock full of delightfully playful shoes like these.

(PS-In case you couldn’t tell by now from all the NYC and London photos, it’s time to make sure you’ve got your metallic sparkly tights all lined up for fall.)

Bora Aksu showed a bunch of shoes that should be pleasing to high-fashion Lolis everywhere.

And the trends we saw in New York were surely present in London, too.  To see some examples (as well as my very favorite collection from London Fashion Week), click on to the cut.

The covered wedge platform shoe that showed up way back at the BCBG shoe (albeit without the Kirkwoodian platform detail) was all over the runways in London.

Ashish did it 80s style in a number of animal prints:

Josh Goot did it with a pointy-toe and a pared-down palette.

And Osman Yousefzada stuck that of-the-moment heel-zip on these clunky stompers that can’t help but remind me of nurse shoes (especially the white version).

Elaborate T-straps were all over the place.  Roksanda Ilincic went with the animal prints (sensing a theme here with the zebras and leopards?  you’d be right), while Marios Schwab kept it simple and black with a subtle reptile pattern on the platform, and Christopher Kane went velvet with some trendily chunky ankle straps.

What’s a good T-strap without a nice buckle, right?  Buckles where EVERYWHERE in a way I completely approve of.  Fastening straps, sure, but also there as adornment in some really kooky ways.  Check out this PPQ sandal.

Or these metallic Nathan Jenden boots.

But by far my favorite of the UK shows was Basso & Brooke’s.  These shoes are so fabulously entertaining and beautiful at the same time.  Dare I say it, these almost look like they could have been cooked up by the fabulously inventive John Galliano.  Feast your eyes.

Gorgeous!

And that’s the news from the tents in London, folks.  Me, I’m crossing my fingers for lots of buckles and fun straps and textures to show up in stores, but not so much with the animal prints or (*shudder*) the 80s neons.