Happy.New.Year.2013

To.All.My.Readers:

(source: www.123newyear.com)

With the New Year, comes bigger challenges and opportunities.
Beat the challenges and grab the opportunities, with an equal zeal.
Have a promising and fulfilling New Year! 

-The.Shoe.Freak

2012.New.Year.&.New.Challenges

To all my readers,

Year 2012 has started with lots of new challenges and new opportunities for me in my career. My life has been a hectic and somewhat crazy non-stop flurry of workload and travels ever since as I have been living in-and-out of my suitcase for most part of the year so far. Traveling around the globe and being in-between cities, hotel rooms and airports is thrilling but does not allow much time for anything else.

This has led to this complete silence and lack of post on The.Shoe.Freak and I am truly sorry for that, especially since all this traveling and the wonderful projects I have been working on have given me so much material and inspiration to write about.

Soon, many new posts to come on The.Shoe.Freak about the cities I have had the chance to visit and the wonderful fashion I have seen as well as the amazing cultures I've had the incredible fortune to discover.

Stay Tuned!

Thank you all for your continued support.

-The.Shoe.Freak

p.s: the pics below are a foretaste of places and things I have done and seen. Enjoy!

-Asia:

(Hong.Kong.Skyline)

(View.From.My.Hotel.Room.Of.The.Hong.Kong.Skyline.At.Night)

(Hotel.Room.In.China)

(All.That.Glitters: China.Fabric.Market)

 -Europe:

(London.Streets)

(Tasty.Desserts.In.London)

(Selfridges.London)

(Hotel.Room.In.Paris)

(Beautiful.Paris)

(Beautiful.Paris.2)

Ladies.Fall.2011.Fashion.Trend: Fringe

As the 20's, 60's and 70's are important influences in today's fashion trends, elements of design from those eras are used by designers to create full on collections. Fringes are one of those fashion design elements that were back in full force on the catwalks internationally.

From the flapper days of the 20's to the fringe profusion of the peaceful 60's and disco 70's, designers have fringed bags, shoes, shirts, dresses and anything else possible so it seems. Besides the traditional suede and leather, other fabrics like knits, thick jerseys, furs, feathers as well as wool have been also making their way down the runways.

Lets take a look at some of my favorite fringe looks and pieces for Fall.2011.

-Subtle.Romance

(Valentino/Jason.Wu/Temperley.London)

-Edgy.Streets

(Barbara.Bui/Roberto.Cavalli/Gareth.Pugh)

-Trendsetting.Fashionista

(Isabel.Marant/Balmain/Alice.&.Olivia)

-Gorgeous.20's

(John.Galliano/Jason.Wu/Temperley.London)

-Knits.&.Wools

(Dsquared2/Anna.Sui/Iceberg)

-Feathers

(Iceberg/Jason.Wu/John.Galliano)

Stay tuned for my next few posts as I will explore fringes in the Footwear and Handbag categories in fashion.

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: style.com)

My.Collaborations: YourKloset.Com.#12

My newest article for YourKloset.com is out. It talks about Sex as a tool for fashion brands in marketing; all strategies by marketing mavens in order to keep their names out there. Debating if Sex Sells is somewhat unrealistic as we know that sexual connotations always stir some kind of reaction, therefore keeping a brands name out there. However, in today's society, do we still need so much sexual images or references to be relevant?


You can read my article called "Sex Sells...?" by clicking here.


I would love to know your take on this as well as what are in your minds the most controversial Fashion Ad you have ever seen.


Here are pictures of some other controversial fashion Ad campaigns by leading brands and designers.

American.Apparel

Diesel

Emanuel.Ungaro

Sisley

Tom.Ford

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: www.fashionist.ca)

Fall.2011.Handbags.Fashion.Trend: Textured.Metallics

Metallics have been constantly showing up on runways for the past few seasons now, but for the Fall.2011 season, they have been used in every segment of one's wardrobe. In the handbag category, metallics were often used as trims on big bags or, when used all over, on smaller bags likes clutches. But this season, they are used on almost every shape out there, and most importantly, as the main fabric. Therefore, textured fabrics are used by designers in order to tame down the shininess and give the style a new dimension. Textured fabrics such as cracked, chopped, distressed &/or grainy leathers, as well as animal skins (snakes, crocos and ostrich to name a few) in full on metallic colors such as gold, silver, rose gold, pewters and bronze.

Mulberry is leading the way with this trend by interpreting it on their iconic "Alexa" and "Bayswater" styles as seen below:

Mulberry's.'Alexa'

Mulberry's.'Bayswater'

In the below video, many more options in the Textured Metallics trend in Handbags for Fall.2011 are featured.

Are you ladies digging the trend?

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: net-a-porter.com/nordstrom.com)

Please.Excuse.My.M.I.A.

To All,

please excuse my lack of posts as of late. I have been Missing In Action for the past few weeks, being busy traveling and working extra hard on my day job; my design career. Plenty of new posts coming up very soon, promise. Please stay tuned!

I leave you with these Ladies.&.Mens.Shoes.Of.The.Day images for all to gush over...

-Ladies.Shoes.Of.The.Day

(Giuseppe.Zanotti.Fall.2011)

(Giuseppe.Zanotti.Fall.2011)

(Lanvin.Fall.2011)

-Mens.Shoes.Of.The.Day

(Alexander.McQueen.Fall.2011)

(Opening.Ceremony.Fall.2011)

(Zara.Fall.2011)

Enjoy!

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: giuseppezanottidesign.com/mrporter.com/luisaviaroma.com/zara.com)

Shoes.Of.The.Day: Buckles

This installment of my Shoes.Of.The.Day segment is based on the countless hours of research I do every season in the name of fashion. While looking through all the pictures of shoes I had saved on my laptop, I realized most of them had buckles adorned to them, either multiple ones or just the simple lonely one on a pair of boot. No matter what, this realization made me push further into the research stage. And this led me to conclude that buckles were in fact a big 'detail' trend for Fall.2011, especially in the footwear industry.

Buckles can be viewed as trivial and overlooked by consumers but in fact, they are detail-oriented pieces that add significant purpose and value to a design. This being said, there are many different varieties of buckles, in different shapes and forms, with different qualities. Of course, this adds, determines and justifies price tags of an item. Designers use them wisely as variables in their creations. 

Below are my Shoes.Of.The.Day with buckles as a prominent detail. They are both from Alexander McQueen, which I have to admit, is my designer of the moment.

-Ladies.Shoes.Of.The.Day

(Alexander.McQueen.Fall.2011)

Who: Alexander McQueen 
What: Buckled suede boot
Why: How gorgeous are these boots ladies? The color, a rich Cobalt Blue, which is a strong Fall.2011 color by the way, is beautiful. The detailing, so McQueen, is interesting with the turned-over flap and appealing forms of the panels. The blocked heel is perfectly proportioned to the rest of the design elements. And finally, the fastening tabs with the gold buckles add the final touch. Swoon Ladies, Swoon!

How Much: $1,225 Us (@net-a-porter.com)

-Mens.Shoes.Of.The.Day

(Alexander.McQueen.Fall.2011)

Who: Alexander McQueen 
What: Leather triple buckle boot
Why: Everything about this boot is amazing. Love the triple buckled flap. Love the gold metal tips at the round cap toe and heel. Love the thick stitching. Love the leather sole. Love the right height of the ankle boot. All these fine design and detail elements that are subtle yet oh so cool and modern. I love love love and want them so bad!!!

How Much: $955 Us (@barneys.com)

And finally, since there was way too many options out there, I have assembled some of my favorites in the below video. Enjoy!

Which ones are your favorites?

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: barneys.com, bergdorfgoodman.com, saksfifthavenue.com, nordstrom.com, luisaviaroma.com, mrporter.com, net-a-porter.com)