Fashion Fringe UK Shoe Design Competition.

This is pretty much the Footwear Designer competition of the year (the other one being the Footwear Friends Award) and has been won in the past by fantastic new shoe designers who went on to become well known and successful in their field.

This year Fashion Fringe have partnered with Bruno Frisoni, who will alos be judging the entries and the top prize is a six months apprenticeship with him, working on the Roger Vivier line in Paris. So a fantastic not to be missed opportunity.

Applications for the 2011 awards are now open. http://www.fashionfringe.co.uk/accessories/

Image courtesy of www.stylefrizz.com Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier

Just to add: it has been drawn to my attention that there are shoe design 'competitions' out there that may not be what they seem. Please be careful. Do not enter any competition that requests that you to pay them money to enter. Be sure of who you are dealing with. No genuine shoe design competition that I have ever seen has demanded money. The competition should be about your talent and not about how much you can afford to pay.

Burglar Identified by his Hello Kitty Sandals

I used to design Footwear for the Hello Kitty license, the highlight being a trip to the Sanrio Headquarters in Germany, where we had coffee from a pink Hello Kitty coffee machine and we drank out of Hello Kitty mugs!

So when I saw this story I had to laugh. In Japan and other parts of Asia, it's not considered odd for men to like Hello Kitty. Infact I've sat in many a boardroom meeting besuited executives and smiled when they produce Hello Kitty stationery from their briefcase!

So, I read this story on Anime News Network a burglar in Japan has been identified by his pink Hello Kitty sandals. It sure beats the Reebok Classic which is the boring choice of villains in the UK!

Ok it's still January, but......

I've already got a favourite shoe of the summer. Ok, there have been kazillions of fruit themed shoes in the past, but I really love this one by Charlotte Olympia. I just love the proportions - funny and sexy at the same time. I think there must be an unwritten rule that if you are shoe designer with Brazilian heritage, you MUST create a fruit shoe or people will be very disappointed.

Can be bought via Luisa Via Roma, the link is currently down, but you can find the info here:

http://www.polyvore.com/charlotte_olympia_shoes/shop?brand=Charlotte+Olympia&category_id=41

Shoe related Boats #2

The previous post reminded me of other shoe inspired boats. I'm going to dedicate this post to the memory of Thames boat builder Peter Freebody. Here is one of his slipper launches.

If you want a slipper launch of your very own follow the link http://www.peterfreebody.com/slipper_launch_for_sale.php

Shoe related boats #1

Now as some of you may know (and some of you may not), I'm a liveaboard boater, so I think about boats almost as much as I think about shoes.

If I weren't on the Inland Waterways in my narrowboat, I'd love to learn to sail. I found this Puma yacht online and it's for sale. But I don't think I'd get something with a keel like this up the River Lee (where my marina is).

If you have a fortune to spare, go here for more info. http://www.pumavolvo70forsale.com/index.html

Sexiest new shoe designer

This award goes to Tabitha Simmons, she does sexy so well... gorgeous slender heels yet never tarty. I think she also has an amazing understanding of pattern and colour.

Best (and most influential) Shoe Range

This is kind of similar to the Tart of The Trade award did last year, lots of High Street stores knocked off these two brands and funnily enough, Sienna Miller was seen in one of them - perhaps she should become a high street shoe buyer - she has an eye for the winners!

I'm giving the award to Surface To air (top) and Acne (bottom) . It's a tie!