Ahead Of His Time

Recently my Fashion Marketing group had the opportunity to explore Northampton museum and galleries as well as being given a chance to look at their shoe archive.

Now as a female I have an absolute love for shoes, you can never have enough of them! One pair captured my attention and appreciation more than the others, they were the pair of women’s black suede heel-less court shoes designed by Andre Perugia.

They create the illusion that the wearer is suspended in mid-air. Perugia was the first to experiment with the heel-less shoe in the 1930’s. The French shoe designer, coming from a family of shoemakers, was innovative in pushing the limitation of shoes. The heel-less shoe was seen as a fashion faux pas in the 1930’s with the style not becoming popular with anyone.

But that is no longer true in the 21^st Century. The heel-less shoe can now be found anywhere, being desired and wanted by anybody and everybody. The heel-less shoe is possible to create by tapering the sole off onto a metal plate for support. Many designers now have an interest in the heel-less shoe. 

Camilla Skovgaard
£485

Although they may not be very practical, an end-list of celebrities has a huge fascination with these shoes, such as Victoria Beckham and Lady Gaga.

I would definitely recommend to everyone to go visit Northampton Museum and Galleries, as from this experience I found out how ahead of his time Andre Perugia was and learnt just how old the heel-less shoe design is. The heel-less shoe perfectly demonstrates the cycle of fashion trends that is also displayed in the recent 80’s trend hitting our high street. So ladies don't throw away your clothes, save them for the next time round!

Rebekah Jayne Broady

xxx

Power Of Fashion

My life has changed dramatically these past two weeks. Going from exploring The Whitsundays, Fraser Island and the east coast of Australia, to starting my first year as a BA Fashion Marketing student. 

 Fashion has been a major aspect of my life; I can never wait for the large window displays at Harrods and Harvey Nichol to be changed, always finding myself being enticed by their creative design and innovative ideas; I have yet to find another store that is in their league. Forever buying fashion magazines, following all the fashion weeks and watching the shows, studying fashion design through to A Levels and; of course being a major shopaholic.

The first assignment we were given was to design a garment that best portrays characteristics of our personality. I found this task right up my street as I am a definite believer that fashion IS art.  This is my design…

I selected the colour scheme of black and leather as the main material in the garment as it exhibits the empowered side of my personality, the fact that I am confident and am willing to lead a team, talk in front of large audience and; am not scared to wear what I want. I am a big admirer off including leather in any outfit I wear.

I decided to incorporate lace into my design as it displays my more feminine, girlish side and furthermore it demonstrates my love of fashion and trends. The lace adds a gothic aspect to the garment that is now seen in the top designer collections, such as Roberto Cavalli; he is usually known for his flowing animal print dresses but now has started to involve a gothic twist.

This exercise made me reflect on my whole self; wondering if what I believe is me, is in fact displayed to everyone through what I wear and whether if through the power of fashion they could correctly pick out my characteristics through my appearance, without actually knowing anything about me.

Rebekah Jayne Broady

Xxx