But Wait, There’s More…Moda Calzado
There was just too much at Moda Calzado in March to cover in one blog!
For starters, I was stopped in my tracks by this bright display at Primigi. A children’s shoe company, they’d created this bright branded palm tree display to show off their brilliant cut-out animal boxes. What a great idea for adding value to a purchase! I couldn’t help but think that adults might enjoy getting something fun like that with their shoe purchase, too. Maybe pro-athlete heroes for a young men’s sport shoe company? Or curvaceous pin-up girls for a casual men’s collection? (Or maybe I was just enjoying the Rioja from the “City of Elda” hospitality area a little too liberally that afternoon?)
Updated classic shoe styling is very important this season, like the fun, new details at Barrats, where this tasteful toe detail might not get a second look from some, but would certainly attract the attention of any shoe maven.
Another important trend for the season is texture – rendered elegantly at Lottusse.
Metallics were all over the runways for fall 07, and, it’s been my experience that the trend usually stretches across several seasons. At KTW, they’ve rendered it in a jacquard pattern that combines formality with sportiness.
At the Mustang booth I thought, for a moment, that I’d stumbled into a trendy East Village bar, or at least the South Hall at MAGIC! The booth’s graphic theme was a take off on the ubiquitous “I Heart NY” logo. They have also tapped into the dressy/casual trend, mixing gentlemanly elements with athletic-shoe structure.
I try to deny my inner Imelda Marcos. I try to say that shoes are a great accessory, but how many does one man really need? Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, and my partner, Steve, would be threatening to send me to a 12-step program (there’s a good footwear joke in there somewhere), but he’s just as bad as I am. When I got to the Sendra booth, and saw their great collection of boots, I knew I was in deep trouble. (When I showed Steve these pictures, I knew he was in deep trouble, too.) I love boots. I love cowboy boots. I love Chelsea boots. I love my L.L. Bean rubber boots. Check these out.
Need I say more? Oh, yes I do…check this adorable pair out from the Destroy booth – they are women’s, but so damn cute! Destroy featured a capsule men’s collection at this show.
Finally, to end my Spanish wanderings, Pikolinos featured this earthy, athletic silhouette, that looked like just the thing my feet might need by the end of a day traipsing around a trade show.
And while I’m on that topic, let me give a quick thank you to J. Shoes, whose loafers coddled my feet through a full day of trade show tripping, to a lively flamenco club visit with other fashion editors, and on to an evening meander along the Grand Via, through the buzzing nightlife of the Chueca neighborhood, and finally back to my hotel in beautiful Madrid.