Shoes vs Handbags – Designer Wars
The Revolution in Fashion Footwear for Spring/Summer 2008
The following fashion seasons will see an increasing trend in lavish and imaginative footwear designs as we enter a new era of the "It" shoe.
Anyone who has even the merest interest in fashion cannot help but notice the gradual shoe revolution that has taken place between designers such as Chanel, Chloé, Prada, Miu Miu and Lanvin. Since the 1990s we have been living in the age of the “It” bag, where arm candy has been so sought after (particularly if it has a designer price tag or a girl’s first name) that for years it has taken the place of our other feminine weakness, shoes.
The Demise of the “It” Bag
The Daily Telegraph’s article of 12 March 2008, “Bah, handbag! It’s time for a worthier obsession:shoes," states that recent research by Minitel “predicts a downturn in designer-bag bingeing over the next five years.” According to the high preistess of fashion, Miuccia Prada, “The obsession with handbags has finished a little now. It feels over. It’s about shoes.”
Indeed, shoe designers have clearly decided that handbag manufactures have had it their own way for far too long and are fighting back with a vengeance. They are taking advantage of the fact that many of us are suffering from bag overload and are now promoting statement shoes as a tool to express our personality rather than some oversized designer handbag, which may have us running to an osteopath, as we try to lift its heavy contents.
A Revolution in Shoe Designs
The last year has seen a revolution in shoe design. Shoes are no longer simple vehicles to transport us from A to B. Now, less placid patent pump and more fantasy footwear, we have seen the most amazing designs resembling something out of Sci Fi movies.
With embellishments, from buttons, bows, jewels, petals, ribbons and ruffles to clumpy seventies style platforms, current foot-candy ranges from sexy narrow spiked-stilettos to the lavishly decorated or the eccentrically shaped.
High-Heel Shoes
As for heels, they have become funkier or chunkier and this season is it all about heel-art or modified heels. One look at Prada’s Waves Flower Pump or Miu Miu’s Floral Carved Sandals will convince you that we are living in a new fashion era of feminine (but sometimes futuristic) footwear. Express your individuality by donning on a pair of embellished skyscraper heels which will transform you into a feminine, stylish woman in seconds. There is no denying that a pair of stilettos makes you appear slimmer and taller, giving instant runway poise and a wiggle in your walk. “All you need to do is slip on a pair of spike-heeled shoes and you instantly find yourself in tune with your inner sex goddess.” Says Sandra Deeble, in her book A Passion for Stilettos (Ryland Peters & Small 2006).
Ballet Flats and Peep-Toe Shoes
If you are averse to wearing a pair of high-heels (although no one is too old to feel the power of these remarkable shoes), then even ballet flats have become more flamboyant and the revival of this season’s fashionable peep-toe shoe allows you to dare to bare your toe cleavage. Remember though, according to the king of killer heels, Manolo Blahnik, no more than two toes should be on show, "the secret of toe cleavage, a very important part of the sexuality of the shoe, you must only show the first two cracks".
The Era of the "It" Shoe
Research by Mintel revels that, “women are renouncing cheap and cheerful (shoes) in favor of being more expensively shod.” This means there is huge potential for shoe designers to keep developing innovative and lavish collections and for us to be seeing a forthcoming season of “It” shoes alongside the designer bag.
For both fashionistas and high-street shoppers the future of women’s footwear has never looked so good!
