Well Shod, Well Imformed

CLEAR CUT

Imelda says T.G.I Friday (or Saturday in some parts of the world) and it mean’s it’s high time we get down to the business of spring/summer 09 footwear trends.

Side note for Imeldette’s who are new to the Order - every Friday Imelda takes a look at one key (or micro) trend that will impact what you’ll be wearing next spring/summer and I dish up (or dumb down) a post, high on pictures and low on text – it’s known as a ‘win win’.

My despotic eye first spotted PVC / Perspex in London, and of course the more I looked, the more I saw. Oft (unfairly) associated with strippers and more recently, Erin Brockovich, Perspex has been bogged down by bad PR.

With the likes of McQueen, Lagerfeld, Giles, Westwood and McCartney all tripping on the light fantastic plastic, PVC/Perspex undergoes a bad girl gone good makeover this spring/summer.  Used everywhere from trims to straps, right through to heels and even sole treatments (Celine), it looks like we’ll all be getting our Nomi Malone on next Summer…just remember if anyone asks you ‘bought ‘em at Ver-sayce’.

EMO’S DON’T BOOT SCOOT, DO THEY?

Square dancing to the beat of his own punk rock band, Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci has created one of next season’s most exciting micro trends – Country Punk!

Only in a John Waters film could two opposing and abrasive references be slammed together to create such synergy. That’s why Tisci’s star is such an exciting one to watch.

Now it wouldn’t be Spring/Summer 09 without the perversely covetous peeptoe bootie, Tisci’s booties were adorned with the (not so subtle) country motifs and then cleverly juxtaposed with fetish inspired zips and staple trims.

For Imeldette’s residing in warmer climates be not alarmed. The Givenchy designer also presented single band sandals, albeit cuffed single band sandals, but by the state of my moist petty pants they’re sandal nonetheless.

Refusing to yield to platform-mania, Tisci opted for a traditional ‘country silhouette (chilsed toe) with a raised and exposed footbed. The gold trimmed foreparts reminded us that to be a ‘l'il country’ you still need to be a ‘l'il camp’.

No country punk hoe down would be complete without an animal print and there’s only one print that lifts mummy’s skirt and it’s zebra (K something to match your belt).

Are Stefano Pilati’s shopping trolley booties and sandals too much or am I suffering from fashion overload...I’m open to your thought?

Reaction to Ivana Omazic's final collection at the house of Celine has been mixed. WWD reported ‘Omazic didn’t leave with a bang, but the collection was one of her stronger efforts, and if the lineup was somewhat safe, well, that can’t hurt at retail’.

Imeldettes who traveled the AW collections with the Despotic Queen know that I feel very strongly about the direction Omazic has steered the French House. Under a succession of designers (including Michael Kors) the French House was rudderless and irrelevant until last season's futuristic cyborg boots. Et voila, the House was one to watch. Apparently Phoebe Philo was watching from the sidelines and she made a play for Omazic’s job…

For her ‘swan song’ Omazic continued down the road of deep space exploration with a collection of vertigo inducing wedges (sans arch support) and cleated sole ‘nature’ sandals on molded Perspex footbeds.

Podiatrists will undoubtedly fume over the lack of arch support, but let ‘em - fashion is for the brave of heart.

Viktor & Rolf went 'virtual' this season, you can watch the parade HERE. While the Dutch duo revisited last seasons shoe bootie (and opened it up through the quarter) there were a few surprises, like the ruffle trimmed heels, the black and white sandals and the white silk orchid trims.

WHEN BAD DESIGN HAPPENS TO GOOD ATHLETES!

The Dior wedges were riding high in the polls and while I noticed a last minute swing against them (not cool) they still managed to scrape into Imelda’s wardrobe on 59.4%. Thanks to everyone who voted.

Aussies might be a powerhouse when it comes to the medal tally but we just can’t seem to get it right with our damn uniforms. Time and time again the Australian Olympic uniform looks like it’s been styled from a St Vinnies recycling bin. I will concede that in the overhead shots the graduated colour palette looked sharp. The problem lay when you zoomed in for a close up… it was a gruesome mess. I ain’t got anything nice to say about parachute fabric and the company (Sportscraft) who inflicted this sartorial shame should be hunted from the village by angry taser wielding fashionistas.

I beg you please don’t get me started on the shoes! Had Imelda been consulted I would have had no qualms in recommending Celine's futuristic satin boots in green and gold. Most ‘experts’ poo poo’d the Ivana Omazic collection for the French house, not Imelda, I love it - and after a few editorial pieces in Paris Vogue it seems so does everyone else.

It’s too late to undo the horror of the opening ceremony but Imelda has two weeks to sharpen up the closing ceremony uniforms, so I ask Should Imelda Buy? (For the Australian Olympic team).

ATTACK OF THE CELINE-BORG'S

In the past French brand Celine has just been hang’n ten. OK, it’s a luxury brand but when pushed for an opinion…I come up blank…not really, I think about the other Celine…doh, Celine Dion. Immediately this rings the brand equality alarm. Luxury or otherwise, every brand needs a sense of purpose, definition, drama and most importantly a proposition that calls the consumer to action. Celine the cheesy French Canadian songbird has that in spades, Celine the luxury brand hasn’t.

With an exciting and memorable collection Ivana Omazic has injected some much-needed passion into the belly of this French Madame. As is the nature of the beast, it wasn’t to everyone’s liking. Interestingly style.com's Sarah Mower had this to say “it's still hard to see what, exactly, would make a customer want to shop this label above so many others who are doing more or less the same thing”

Ivana’s collection of futuristic fetish wear ticked all the right ‘directional’ boxes. Bold and angry molded geometric heel counters, masculine sportive velcro panel fastenings, slick polished platform wedges referencing a mid 90’s Mugler. Moody grey colour palette with punchy greens and fuchsia’s and all in the toe shape du jour, square!

So far this season Balenciaga and Prada pushed the boundaries of footwear design to thunderous acclaim. So where I ask, is that same praise for Celine? Did she not present a range that was of equal merit when it comes to shape development? Wasn’t she saying ‘here is my vision and it’s tight?’ Look, whilst the apparel didn’t blow my skirt off it was still gusty enough that the grey ‘storm trooper’ boots made it into Imelda’s Top 5 from Paris.

With the majority of designers regurgitating the clunky platform trend (yawn) Celine has offered up a unique point of view. Futuristic fetish cyborg won’t be everyone’s cuppa but it does separate the label from all the other brands “doing more or less the same thing”.