London Fashion Week always promises unexpected, iconoclastic footwear choices (who can forget last season’s extreme platforms at Tom Ford or Burberry’s retro runner and comfort sandal send-up) that match equally original ready-to-wear. FN will be tracking all the important shoe moments from top designers, plus uncovering under-the-radar collaborations amongst the city’s emerging fashion class.
For the last day of shows, Bionda Castana continued to show their collaboration clout, updating their signature siney-straped Nicole pump for Emilo de la Morena. It certainly fit the designer’s come-hither silhouettes and slit-to-there hemlines.
Nicholas Kirkwood designed a chisel toe loafer-boot hybrid for Roksanda Ilincic, complete with built in suede sockette and curved heel. Ilincic’s strength as a divergent colorist and Kirkwood’s signataure material and shape mashups proved winning.
Mary Katrantzou countered her pepto-pink foam runway with delightfully clompy ankle-strap platforms in velvet gem brights – from sapphire to violet, topaz and ruby. The footwear was again in collaboration with Italian designer Gianvito Rossi. With Katrantzou’s abbreviated, boxy hemlines and thick material choices (everything from wool to PVC, spiky palliates and even touches of the runway’s foam) such a substantial shoe was needed to balance out the weight.
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The first up: mod white squared-toe cropped boots at Sass & Bide by Australian bookmaker R.M. Willams. The sturdy footwear statement was juxtaposed with wild fur knits and sketch-print hosiery. For day two, Gareth Pugh added a touch of playful reality to his dark, romantic aesthetic with straight-cut wader boots, which went over the knee.
