Belgian boots… and Balenciaga
Paris has offered a sublime selection of covetable winter footwear in these heady days of prét-à-porter shows for Fall Winter 2011-12.
From our own Antwerp designers, DRIES VAN NOTEN delivered his expert take on an ankle boot (above), prepped in exotic python skin sitting on a transparent acrylic heel. At ANN DEMEULEMEESTER, a streamlined block wedge returned from SS11 (this time laced up the ankle or toe), and A.F. VANDEVORST‘s Philip Arickx & An Vandevorst proposed a strapped & buckled boot perched upon a razor-thin wedge. The MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA lifted the foot off the sole completely, covering some pairs entirely with mesh stockings.
A true highlight arrived upon the tiled floors of the Hôtel Crillon on Thursday morning, where Nicholas Ghesquiere dreamed up these delightful roccoco stilettos for BALENCIAGA (below). Severe in both their height and pointed toe, their structure was softened by the curlicues that snaked across the ankle or buckles in snakeskin down the foot.
It seems footwear has evolved from the high-impact platform ‘statement’ shoes of the recent past, returning to a more artistic & feminine sphere. No longer pre-occupied with aggressive, over-designed heels, designers seem to have softened – once again crafting feminine and unusual objets d’art for the feet. Coccodrillo approves.
