Ahhhhh….new designs and new direction = new moodboard.
Oftentimes, my favourite part is the research. It’s Sunday night and this is what I’ve come up with. I’m thinking black on black on black: textures, weaving, trapunto, quilting, geometry, lacquer, hair-on calf leather and exotics. Feel me?
Channeling my inner Gareth Pugh? I wish!
Melody Ehsani is one of my favorite designers because 1) she has an expressive street sensibility and 2) she’s fly. Check out M.E.’s recent collabo with Reebok. These studded, brightly-laced, python-printed leather kicks are inspired by love. What do you think of these shoes? I’m just a tad on the fence about the studs. IMHO.
Photos: Melody Ehsani
SEX, huh? Interesting…
I am not sold on Louboutin’s latest rendition of his Pigalle 120mm shoes. Are you?
Photos: net-a-porter.com
These shoes, designed by Anastasia Radevich, are the epitome of art come to life.
Though I am partial to anything and everything typography, I am equally floored by Radevich’s typography heel concoction as I am by her workhorse/industrial heel. Her use of satellite photos as printed uppers are another quality of these shoes I am intrigued by.
Radevich’s collection feels slightly sombre and less optimistic — is it a reflection of our world? Of humanity? Hmmm, I am not at all phased. I truly appreciate the designer’s knack for storytelling and igniting emotion via her conceptual footwear designs.
Photos: anastasiaradevich.com
More python. #EXCITED. That is all.
I’ve been quiet for a minute, I know.
But I’ve always been here. And I’m kinda-sorta back.
Here’s where my mood’s at (re: art/fashion) today. Peep my mood-board/colour-story mish-mash.
FYI: I’m also hungry for some new inspiration. (Ideas? Anyone?)
Pastel Future
Travel Memory
All Blue Everything
Artisan Heritage
(RANT ALERT)
For the past many months, my days have been filled with shoes. I work at a shoe company during the day, I sell shoes elsewhere during the evenings and weekends, and I conceptualize my own shoe designs (amongst other things) during the little time I have left.
Call me a shoe snob, but selling shoes is particularly challenging. This is because almost all the shoes that are sold at a mid-level pricepoint to the general public are $#!*. Pardon my French. Though affordable, these type of shoes, (produced by profit-hungry corporations), are disposable, painful, unbreathable and poorly-crafted. But we, as society, don’t care.
And that is the debacle that I have quit trying to solve. Because sometimes I feel like I am cheating my values when I help to propel our material hunger for fast, disposable fashion and cheap, mass-produced goods. Why can’t we buy less and buy better? If I could count the number of times I’ve had to tell a woman, “No, these are not genuine leather” or “No, these are not handmade,” I would be rich.
Hmmmf!
For now, I digress…as I am also a hypocrite whilst I sit here and wear my affordable, mass-produced Converse Chuck Taylors. I will not quit my moonlighting gig, and I will continue to bite my tongue. (A girl’s gotta eat, right?). So the only thing I can do is create and produce quality-rich, well-crafted shoes (and other accessories) that I, myself, would like society to utilize, value and buy.
Would you buy better quality goods at a higher pricepoint?
How instantly enamoured (!) was I when I spotted this Marilyn Levine satchel at the Vancouver Public Library (as pictured above). I was also shocked to learn that this bag is made of ceramic — not leather. How cool is that?
My curiosity led me to find out more about the artist. She is Marilyn Levine (1935-2005), Canadian-born ceramist. Levine has a background in Chemistry and Fine Art. She also taught and showcased her work in both Canada and the United States. Levine spent her later years residing in California.
This kind of trompe l’oeil is definitely a feast for my eyes! Check out more of her work below. Dope!
Photos: Marilyn Levine
