Bloggers and magazines have no doubt covered RAFW’s designers with great detail, but often the footwear is left out.
So this week I will recap the most interesting footwear decisions made by designers.
Manning Cartell designed and produced the footwear for their collection; a collection of hybrid style platform heels in futuristic white, black and silver. Cleverly mixed with their floaty and masculine style laced with gorgeous detail. Sometimes simple is better.
Image courtesy of six6photography
Camilla and Marc produced their own shoes for the show and golly are they pretty. The brother and sister duo are well known for their gorgeous dresses but now they can add shoes to their list of what they do very very very well. These leopard print ankle boots are stunning and will add punch to any outfit.
Image courtesy of six6photography
Dhini and
Gail Sorronda teamed up for a gorgeous and flirty show with dark and gothic overtones. Gorgeous headpieces, floaty fabric and strappy shoes. In particular those that stood out are these hybrid boots in my favourite pair of colours: black and gold. I’ve been to one of Dhini’s showings a few years ago and her sense of style is as apparent as ever before.
George Wu showed at the Westin and used
tom gunn as their supplier for footwear. tom gunn is an Australian designed, Italian made label designed by Australian-duo Gabrielle Thompson and Shannon Gunn. Made in Italy using beautiful leathers the range features a combination of powerful, bold heels and classic flats.
Vein footwear are an Australian based label specialising in a bespoke style of footwear. Featured in two RAFW shows this past week, Vein’s collection is unique and coveted by only the most stylish men (and their female partners).
I’ve written about Vein before - you can order from their online store.
Both
unnaked and Melbourne’s
Leopold used Vein as their footwear supplier for RAFW.
Kirrily Johnston used Fernando Frisoni as her footwear supplier. Frisoni’s debut collection at RAFW featured the same shoe in two different colours, boring beige and black. The platform open toe, sling back creation, also worn by Johnston in her appearance on the catwalk, was simple and without any real flair. While the shoes could be considered Marni-esque, they are not being released for sale anywhere. In my opinion, a boring choice and by far the worst of RAFW.
Image courtesy of six6photography
Fernando Frisoni bandaged his models feet with cotton bandages fit for sports injury. Indeed the bandages were for his own show featuring his apparel as well as his footwear. His line included men and women’s clothing; for his male models, a bandage was all that was needed, no actual shoe included. Makes for some interesting analysis and viewing.
And last but not least, the most exciting collection for a number of reasons,
Romance Was Born. The design duo are one of the most exciting Australian labels to watch right now and for RAFW, they did not let us down. Collaborating with indigenous artist Esme Timbery and
RMK shoes, the show features shoes encrusted with pearls and lace. Truly inspirational and different and the reason Fashion Week was invented.
These are by far the most covetable pair and I wish I could get my feet into a pair of these!
Overall, RAFW is proving its place on the world stage of fashion, through designers including a more thoughtful decision in relation to footwear. If more designers follow in the steps of Camilla & Marc and Romance Was Born by using original and fresh ideas, and embracing local talent, we’ll see better and more exciting fashion weeks ahead.