Shoe blog

Q by Pasquale: Spring 2011 Sneak Peek

Some of you will remember that several months back I had the pleasure of chatting with Pasquale Fabrizio about his fabulous, limited-edition, Murano glass shoe collection.

“Argento” – Q by Pasquale 2010

For those shoe fans who exist on budgets too tight to accommodate the $7500 price tag of the original limited-edition shoes, the spring 2011 line is expected to be priced at a comparatively-lower price range of $450 – $1000.  These styles incorporate smaller Murano-glass details, rather than the specially-engineered acrylic-glass sole, and will be available in both flat and heeled styles.

In addition, particular detail has been paid to the soles of this line.

Pasquale had mentioned (during the earlier interview) that he had found an amazing rainbow leather he that he was using to sole his next season of shoes.  Since it was still in production, I wasn’t able to mention any details until they were ready for public view.  So, here they are. I absolutely love it when a designer pays attention to the less public areas of a shoe – this is so flirty and playful. Plus, if you look closely, there is a clear rubber sole-protector sewn over the leather to lessen scuff wear and extend the life of the vibrantly-colored leather sole.  One word: Genius.  I need several of these clear, protective pads to apply to shoes that I wear only rarely for fear of  ruining their decorative soles*.

(*Hint to Betsey Johnson, Irregular Choice, Oh Deer!, and everybody else who does decorated or colored soles – Add this to your production process, please?!)

According to Marco Fabrizio,  the Q by Pasquale brand will be opening a boutique in Los Angeles around January 2011.  They are also in negotiations with larger US department stores as well as with a mono-brand store in Dubai.

If you are interested in hearing about new styles as they come out, I recommend taking the occasional peek at the official Q by Pasquale website or becoming a fan of the Q by Pasquale facebook page.

Note: For those of you who might be interested in becoming customers of Pasquale in his capacity as a master cobbler, the Pasquale Shoe Repair web site went live about 2 weeks ago; there is also a facebook page for press and updates.  His shop has significant expertise working with high-end shoes should you live in an area where finding cobblers of such skills might be difficult or downright impossible. This is a fabulous resource for shoe-lovers who live away from metro centers.