Foot-to-quarter: The weird design of footwear

Quirky, eye-catching but hard-to-wear shoes are gaining popularity among consumers. Designers have also begun to transfer the special designs and fabrics that were commonly used on handbags to footwear. Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hardy, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blanhnik are all big names in fashion because of their shoes. If you still think that you can rely on the newest handbags, then you need to think twice. This season, the focus of passers-by will be your feet.

Those who love to buy shoes should be no strangers to Marc Jacobs' heel-heeled heels - on a pair of classic high-heeled shoes, with a pair of high heels standing in the opposite direction, protruding from the heel. Over the past few quarters, with this kind of strangely shaped shoes become commonplace, even people who are not so hot should have seen some clues - the special designs and fabrics that were usually used on handbags were recently used. Moved to the shoes. From the beginning of this year, there have been media propaganda, saying that soon after, female consumers will invest in buying fewer but higher-priced footwear. Indeed, just as Luella Bartley used the name Giselle to name her handbag, or Hermes' most classic Kelly and Birkin, more and more shoes have begun to be named after stars: Italian designer Giambattista Valli designed for Victoria Beckham Victoria shoes were designed, Calvin Klein's Suri shoes used the name of Tom Cruise's daughter, and Amy Winehouse's Amy shoes was Jonathan Kelsey's opening design.

Once the fashion industry awards the name of a single product "it," it means that it will be popular for more than a quarter, such as the Birkin bag or Fendi's Baguette - they are all popular handbags for many years. But now, in the words of Miuccia Prada, it is time to change. “The attractiveness of handbags has recently receded slightly,” she said. “I think this boom is almost over. It's time for shoes to appear.”

Yves Saint Laurent's Tribute high heels are hot sellers because of Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez. Since the beginning of the year, major department stores such as Harvey Nichols in the United Kingdom and Barney's in the United States have seen growth in leather shoes. What's worth mentioning is that the demand for catwalk shows has increased, and high-heeled high-heeled shoes have been The usual "improved style" with a lower heel and easier to wear sells better.

This is a bit difficult to understand. For many designer brands, handbags are their savior. These brands can neither increase the sales of expensive fashion, but also refuse to obtain profits through brand licensing—handbags are a very practical accessory, not to mention the high rate of their appearance. "After all, you can't turn a shoe into something that's so easy to show - you can't put your feet on the table," said footwear designer Emma Hope. Her horsehair slippers were once a popular popular item, however, the functionality of the bag actually limited its impact as a fashion accessory. "A practical bag is a practical bag," said Hope. "You don't feel that it's necessary to turn around all day — not to mention that you don't want to transfer everything from one bag to another every day." Relative to shoes, the demand for a person for a package is very limited. If there is an it bag in a season, then the number of it shoes should be several pairs."

Ms. Prada’s initiative hides business motives. The high prices of handbags have limited their sales to some extent. The shoes use less time and materials than handbags. For most retailers, the ideal sales ratio of shoes and handbags should be 5 to 1. There is also the fact that handbags are easier to fake. Of course, in addition to economic reasons, leather shoes are still unique. “Shoes are always associated with dreams and costumes. It can give women a new look, and handbags can't,” says Michael Lewis, Kurt Geiger's design director. “Shoes can shape you into a new character.”

If the main element of the "it-bag" is the rare, expensive and long waiting list, then the "itshoe" gesture is even more bold. You can't find any regularity on these shoes. Prada himself is also one of the initiators of this trend. The surreal heel of the trotters, which was bent in the 07 autumn/winter collection, caused a great deal of discussion in the newspapers about the intensity of the clothing. It was much more concerned than the envelope. Similarly, Balenciaga's tech-savvy heel like the Meccano metal toy model, and Chloé's somewhat tall and thick wedge-shaped bottom that resembles Dr Martens all have a huge sensation. By the spring and summer of 08, this trend was not only not retired due to aesthetic barriers and discomfort of wearing, but it was becoming increasingly fierce, creating a new height of luxury and drama—from the silver high-heeled chanel building of Chanel to Balenciaga and Knee-heeled high-heeled Roman openwork shoes, not to mention Prada's series of thick-soled shoes with wavy lines and bumps.

As for the new season of autumn/winter 08, fashionistas are already familiar with the above-mentioned bizarre designs. All kinds of weird heels and shoe shapes are frequently appearing on stretch tables and shop windows, combining square heads, crocodile skins, and three-eye buckles. The return of the bohemian tassels brought about a foothold that was both retro and innovative. It looks like female consumers are bound to go crazy—all the shoes that have been out of the way are moving toward new extremes, whether in terms of proportions—higher heels and thicker, heavier soles or designs. - Retro, cartoon, geometric patterns are all the same. "I think we may be a little weary of the it bag. The luxury goods industry has started to shift its excitement to shoes, so the shoes suddenly become more creative, more personal and weirder," said accessories designer Orla Kiely. .

If you still think that you can rely on the newest handbags, then you need to think twice. This season, the focus of passers-by will be your feet. Whether or not you have a pair of high-heeled shoes with red soles has long been a new topic for several quarters. Christian Louboutin, he produced those shoes with bright red and high heel shoes almost worn on the feet of every Hollywood star. It's time to buy a couple of new shoes.