Yves Saint Laurent f/w 10 Sneakers Video

via matches

A video of Creative Director Stefano Pilati's sneaker collection which is based around two new models and includes the desert boot sneakers featured above.

Rosy Sukkar

via showtime

Another London College of Fashion 2010 graduate. This time it's Rosy Sukkar. I've been interested in using knitted elements in footwear for a little while now and this is a fine example of what can be done.

Givenchy Nubuck Audrey Pumps

via luisaviaroma

They seem vintage yet futuristic. The shape of the vamp and the way it is lasted around the platform creates really nice lines.

Rachel Comey Spencer Boot

via theshoebuff

There is a childlike quality in the combination of simple design and colour choice of these Spencer boots by Rachel Comey. I love the proportions of the padding around the ankle.

Makoto Taguchi

via stylesalvage & showtime

London College of Fashion 2010 graduate Makoto Taguchi's work showed numerous amazing ideas. The pictures speak for themselves.

Balenciaga f/w 08 Heels

via harpersbazaar & jak&jil

Nice mix of materials and shape on these Balenciagas. They're from a few seasons ago, but as with most Balenciaga footwear, they look like they're from a fair few seasons into the future.

Rick Owens s/s 11 Sneaker

via highsnobiety

A first look at the new sneakers from Rick Owens. C-R-A-Z-Y.

Maison Martin Margiela f/w 10

via luisaviaroma & elle.com

Styles that distort the foot are always impressive (Alexander McQueen s/s 10) and this is something Maison Martin Margiela f/w 10 played with quite well. I love how the shape of the top examples are fairly subtle but still very awkward and how the woodgrain leather on the first shoe enhances the shape even more.

Schiaparelli's Shoe Hat

via samuraiknitter & boozeandyarn

Elsa Schiaparelli, Shoe Hat, (collaboration with Salvador Dalí),
winter 1937-38. Wool felt.

One of the many amazing contributions to fashion by Elsa Schiaparelli (including inventing the wedge!) More on Schiaparelli from Wikipedia:

Elsa Schiaparelli (10 September 1890 — 13 November 1973) was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators Salvador Dalí and Alberto Giacometti. Her clients included the heiress Daisy Fellowes and actress Mae West.

Schiaparelli did not adapt to the changes in fashion following World War II and her business closed in 1954.

Schiaparelli was an innovative woman and fashion designer. She had a lot of “firsts” in the fashion industry. Her career began with her introduction of graphic knitwear to the world of fashion with knit patterns and emblems. These led to her fanciful prints of body parts, food, and many more unusual themes. She was the first to use brightly colored zippers, appearing first on her sportswear in 1930 and again five years later on her evening dresses. Not only was she the first to use brightly colored zippers, but she was also the first to have them dyed to match the material used in her garments. She was the first to create and use fanciful buttons that looked more like brooches. They came in the shapes of peanuts, bees, and even ram’s heads. In Parisian fashion, she invented culottes, introduced Arab breeches, embroidered shirts, wrapped turbans, pompom-rimmed hats, barbaric belts, the “wedge,” a soled shoe that would trend through the 20th century and into the next, and mix-and-match sportswear, the concept of which would not be fully recognized for another forty to fifty years. While her innovations in fashion design were numerous, it was her creation of the runway show as we know it today that was most influential. Her modern idea of a fashion show included a runway with music and art, and the use of elongated, shapeless women as models. She believed that this boyish figure would best display the clothing. Many people do not realize the true sum of her impact on fashion and the fashion industry.

Ann Demeulemeester s/s 10 Boots

via slamxhype

I like the way that these basic shoes are transformed into interesting boots by the simple addition of a section of leather (the extra lace hole is also a nice touch.)

Harriet Holt (Hooves 2)

via idonteatbread & showtime

A little while ago I did a post about Hooves. Well these 'Chiron' boots by London College of Fashion 2010 graduate Harriet Holt are more full-on than any from the last post. The hair and the quilting and the straps. They even attach to a corset. Bloody hell.

Native Fitzsimmons

via theshoebuff

Mold injected with foam EVA and light as a feather, the 'Fitzsimmons' by Native is a durable, easy to clean and more eco-friendly hiking boot. Sort of like a gum boot (rain boot, wellington) and hiking boot cross. They're kinda cute.

Helen Furber 'Icica' Boot

via coroflot

I have not had much luck over the last few days in my research. It's disheartening to look at so many shoes and not find anything interesting or beautiful or (please, please, please) both. This is, after all, the purpose of this blog - to collect all the footwear I think is worth looking at into the one place. There are so many amazing shoes out there but sometimes it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack... made of shit.
Well I almost punched the air when, after all this, I find 2010 Cordwainers Footwear design graduate Helen Furber's 'Icica' boot. Interesting (and beautiful) design, technically brilliant and made with sustainability in mind they restore my hope in the world of footwear design. See more aboout them at Style Bubble & I Don't Eat Bread, and at Helen's own blog Shoe Kitchen which gives a great insight into the process behind making these lovelies.
I may be covered in poo, but I've got my needle.