Strayhorn by Clae—the Perfect Go-between

Here we have the perfect go-between piece of footwear for either a smart or casual occasion. The Clae Strayhorn shown here in a concrete color way is a take on a classic boot silhouette, nothing over stated of flash— just plain and simple, smart and classic.

Clae is well known for bridging the gap between athletic style and footwear for a dressier occasion and, here with the Straythorn, we have a perfect example of this.

Have a peek at a few more shots here.

Photo & text Copyright Clae, Courtesy Sane Communications.

Category › Clae , footwear , shoes , US designers

Alison Muskat Launces New Men’s Shoe Collectin: Rockadelic!

Growing up in a family immersed in the shoe business, Alison Muskat’s world is rooted in the rich history and knowledge that is required to launch a new innovative brand that is just right for today’s contemporary market. The Rockadelic brand stems from this mastered craftsmanship and, partnered with Muskat’s leadership, this edgy men’s line is destined for success.

Rockadelic will easily fill a prominent void in the marketplace, hitting just the right spot with fashion-forward styling and a high level of quality and detailing that is unprecedented at an affordable price-point ranging from $90- $180. While we’re seeing a lot of reinterpreted styling among men’s shoes in the market these days, the core values and vision of this brand is articulated in the unique design and unrivaled execution of the product. The product is crafted from carefully selected leathers and materials with hand-worked finishes and offers men in the 22-40 age range the option to either dress up relaxed denim options or dress down more conventional styles.

“I’ve been playing around with developing different concepts and categories of men’s footwear for the last two years, sometimes with a certain brand in mind, while other times it might be a particular guy I’m thinking of. I began asking myself ‘Where’s the shoe for that guy whose been wearing sneakers for as long as he can remember?’ ‘How does the go-to denim guy dress up his jeans or dress down a suit?’ My customer does not have to wear an out-dated boring shoe that his father has been sporting. ‘Where’s his option now that he is grown up and sometimes has to dress up?’ Ultimately, once that wheel began turning, I realized there was a huge gap in the market for my designs to thrive within,” Muskat explains.

Laid-back designs, rebellious re-creations and rock n’roll attitude make up the DNA of the collection. Unexpected embellishments, including zipper details, make the shoes easy to slip on and off while adding a familiar, hip style element- even on the strappiest of boots or intricately laced high tops. Each shoe has a full-foam memory sock with Muskat favoring premium soft fabric or leather linings, dependent upon style and ease, whilst simultaneously providing fresh and edgy footwear.

Rockadelic styling mixes various elements in each distinct shoe. Muskat is heavily influenced by athletic product and has sampled many of the trends seen in athletic urban-chic styles including heavy goring, to create dress shoes with hints of athletic footwear trends. As designer and creative director for the brand, she takes classic, traditional shoes and reinvents them by using pristine finishes, exciting ornaments and material experimentation and twists them in a way that is reminiscent of styles of the past while presenting fresh new creations.

See the collection here.

Photos & text Copyright Rockadelic.

Category › accessories , Alison Muskat , footwear , Rockadelic , shoes , US designers

Diemme for Your Next Trek

Diemme has been producing footwear in Montebelluna, Italy, since the 1870’s.

Montebelluna is a small town in the Veneto region of approximately 30,000 inhabitants. Other footwear labels that produce in the town include Fila and Geox.

Since 1992, the company has been run by two brothers, Dennis and Maico, who produce 4 types of shoes: high mountain, trekking, hunting, and safety boots.

Have a look at the boots here.

Photos Copyright Calzaturificio Diemme, Courtesy Capsule.

Category › accessories , boots , Diemme , footwear , Italian designers

FEIT—Custom Made for your Feet

FEIT was founded by Tull Price 2005 in Australia as a lean model of footwear producers that maintain a direct relationship with their customers, mostly online.

Tull searched the world for years looking for skilled craftsman who create the perfect custom shoe.

Recently FEIT produced the Kudu Stichdown, which comes in 4 colors but limited to 36 pairs.

Stitchdown is a hand-sewn process in which the top and bottom stitch are inter-stitched by stretching the upper over the last.

Kudu is the leather that is derived from the antelope that grazes in South Africa.

See more models here.

Photos Copyright FEIT Direct.

Category › accessories , Australian designers , FEIT , footwear , Tull Price

Ted Bakker Spring/Summer 2011

The Spring/Summer 2011 men’s collection of footwear combines optimistic explosions of colour with authentically worn ranges.

Think 1950s colour saturated Hollywood movies as the shoes overflow with colour. These Technicolor shoes are a touch of vintage with modern humour.

Classic moccasins, driving shoes, nylon running shoes, gentleman’s brogues and jazz shoes all come in brights, from Mediterranean sky blues to deep inky blues, from pale pinks to fruity raspberries, through to bright oranges, this collection of footwear is a veritable kaleidoscope of colour.

Also the leathers and suedes used are tactile, soft and deconstructed giving the shoes a fantastically summery feel.

Meanwhile, some of the men’s shoes have a used, authentic feel using warm, lived-in materials. Softly worn-out casuals have distinct signs of retro styling.

Desert boots and lace-up brogues have also been heavily burnished and unlined to create a vintage deconstructed look for Spring.

See the shoes here.

About Ted Baker
Born 1955 in North London, Raymond Stuart Kelvin founded Ted Baker in 1988. Ted Baker’s claim to fame is the company’s rise to fame: word of mouth rather than advertising!

Photos Copyright Ted Baker, Courtesy Eskimo PR.

Category › footwear , Ray Kelvin , shoes , Ted Bakker , UK designers

GIO-GOI Spring/Summer 2011 Footwear

London, July 2010. Gio-Goi’s footwear collection for men and ladies radiates with bright summery colours on sport inspired styles.

For men, Gio-Goi offer best-selling continuity styles in fresh spring colours, alongside brand new summer silhouettes. Bright colour pops stand out, as do the all red, all blue and all yellow shoes, bringing the energy of the 80’s to the range.

For the first time ever, Goi-Goi are launching a range of men’s casual footwear with crepe soles and leather uppers, all within the brand’s signature urban styling. Stand-out pieces for spring are the new lightweight boots with EVA outsoles and urban inspired profiles.

Essential for hot summers, flip-flops with bold t-shirt prints and vulcanised trainers with string vest mesh material are nice and light. No men’s summer collection would be complete without a boat shoe and Gio-Goi have not forgotten this.

The late 1980s and early 1990s were heady days for the music and club scene. Manchester’s Hacienda led the way, with sounds from the likes of the Happy Mondays immortalised by Factory Records; it was into this influential youth culture that founders Chris and Anthony Donnelly launched Gio-Goi.

It wasn’t long before Gio-Goi became the label that key figureheads, in both music and the media, actively sought out. While Brit-pop favourites such as Blur and Oasis became supporters of the brand, Gio-Goi became a uniform of choice for dedicated followers of rave culture, or as it commonly became known, the second ‘Summer of Love’.

Today at 21 Gio-Goi is stronger than ever, adding denim, footwear, accessories and eyewear to its already burgeoning core range.

Gio-Goi is now worn by a new generation of rock celebrities, reinforcing the strong music heritage on which the brand was built. It is this combination that continues to produce strong growth for Gio-Goi, being awarded Draper’s Fashion Brand of the year, Fastrack 100 and Cool Brand status for the second year running.

See more models here.

Photos Copyright Gio-Goi, Courtesy Eskimo PR.

Category › Anthony Donnelly , Chris Donnelly , footwear , Gio-Goi , press release , shoes , UK designers

Shudy—the Ready Shoe...Shoe Ready!

Reproducing a fashion icon in a different material.
Using a synthetic material to break away from the original, as a contrast.

The readymade as a source of inspiration, in the instantaneous nature of the creative act, and similarities with cracking art, in terms of using plastic, are the cornerstones of the Shudy concept.

The readymade: an everyday object that instantaneously becomes a work of art, thanks to the intentional nature of the artist’s gesture.

Like the urinal by Marcel Duchamp (inventor of the readymade), which became a work of art precisely because it was exhibited as such for the public; like his Mona Lisa with moustache and goatee beard in L.H.O.O.Q. Existing products that lose their object status to become works of art.

Plastic, on the other hand, is the material used by the Cracking Art Group for its provocative installations: reproductions of animals made using recycled plastic and placed in historic settings or busy public areas, like streets and shopping centres.

And so we come to the ready-shoe, the shoe-ready or Shudy.

100% Made in Italy. See the colorful collection here.

Photos & text Copyright Shudy, Courtesy Blackboard.

Category › accessories , footwear , Italian designers , shoes , Shudy