Quote of the day

I finally got to see this designer's shoes whom I have been coveting for a long time. I like each design, they are actually very simple but when balanced on 6 inch of heels and with carefully orchestrated studs here and there as well as a fantastic shaped last, they look modern and tough. Yes, there's nothing really feminine about these shoes but it's just that I love the overall look.

So when I was in Beijing, I just had to look up the store that carried this label. And I was pretty surprised that a made in Italy shoe had glue stains, certain parts of the leather had 'melted' due well, many reasons, let's not scare you. And overall, the workmanship was not as refined as I imagined it to be and the shoe was hard as brick, despite the leather being sourced in Italy. To me, that's ouch waiting to happen. I have so many blisters in my past life, i don't look forward to squeezing into hard leather.

I love patent leather and the glossy look of it. It's very trendy but every time I think of using it, I think of it being too hard on the feet and I would scrap the idea. I still sometimes have to remind myself why I came to design high heels myself and not get carried away by the design aspect of wanting to use pretty materials which may not be the most comfortable when worn. But it can get pretty frustrating because softer the material is, the more expensive and when you get stuck using it too many times, people label you as boring, not creative.

End of the story : I put down the shoe and I walked out of the boutique feeling happy. Happy knowing that even made in Italy shoes have faults. They are not flawless. They are handmade, just like mine. And they looked pretty much like mine except that my shoes are softer. That for sure I can vouch. And they do not cost you a month's (or 2) salary.

Precious Metal

PRECIOUS METAL was drawn by me in late 2009. It is a personal favourite of mine in terms of the simplicity and elegance of the design with the metal mesh, which I have a thing for. But it was also the whole experience of creating this shoe - one that was saddled with many failed attempts and hair pulling sessions with the factory that made the end result so worth it.

I was inspired by shoes with metal mesh and thought I could use this material in my design - easy peasy right. However, easier to draw than create - this shoe was problematic from day one - the metal mesh that we had sourced would break every time the craftsman tries to last it. I even sourced a nice quality mesh from Taiwan and had shipped it over to the factory but it broke again during the lasting process. After countless of days of sourcing for alternatives and discussions on how to change the shoe, we were about to give up when somehow, the right material was found at the very last moment. I would say persistence does pay off because the shoe is just......sublime.

The metal mesh adds a strong glamrock accent to the shoe so I kept the overall look very classic and fuss free. I am a big believer in straps to hold the feet in but this design did not look quite right with a strap on the ankle or even at the vamp.
It is a shoe that will get anyone noticed but at the same time, not too over the top. It will always have a soft spot in my heart.