Riding boots

From tweed skirt-suits to Barbour jackets the English country scene has enamoured the fashion greats this season. In keeping with this aristocratic trend, leather, knee-high riding boots are an absolute must. Not only are they versatile – they work equally well with a skirt or dress as they do with skinny jeans – they are practical winter shoes insomuch as they keep your feet warm and dry and with a colder than average winter on the horizon these could be just what the doctor and fashion police ordered. Straps and buckles add interest as do contrasting coloured cuffs. Warm browns, deep burgundy reds and jet black are your main colour options. If you can’t be without heels, there are a few versions with mid-height chunky heels.

Snow boots

Not that the UK really gets enough snow to warrant full-on snow boots, the fashion industry has deemed them necessary this season. Fleece and fur-lined with sturdy rubber soles, hook-up laces and plenty of natural materials make these boots not only on trend, but incredibly comfortable. Think of a cross between walking boots and snowboarding boots, add some class and razzmatazz and you are bang on the money. Some boots are knee high, whilst others are merely ankle boots; you have a huge amount of choice within this trend. Colours are natural once again, but the odd bit of Navajo or Aztec detailing won’t go unnoticed.

Shoe boots

Shoe boots are the perfect compromise between the elegance of a heeled shoe and the practicality of a boot. They cover your feet just enough to keep them feeling toasty, yet they have an attractive shape that flatters your feet and legs. This season they continue to play a key role in the fashion stakes. Look for platforms, mid-thickness heels, which add some serious height, and work with colour: shades of green, red, purple and blue are best.

Sam: The studsies are stunsies, I love the bad-ass glitter concept.

Mac: It’s like a disco party on my feet!

Were you girls a design team prior to studying at Ars Arpel School in Milan or did you meet there? As a team, did you always want to design shoes or was it something you fell into along the way?
We met when we both started work in the same week as junior designers for an Australian footwear group. We clicked immediately and it wasn’t long before we were planning our own label together. We’ve always both been interested in shoes and our passion and study drew us together. We both studied fashion design in Italy at different times and we’ve worked together now since 2003.

As designers, you maintain a “strong focus on the silhouette” of the shoes for your line tom gunn. Are you inspired by architecture in modern and ancient building? What about the architecture of nature like mountains and valleys?
We are inspired by everything around us. We collect images and photos on an inspiration board when we start to design a new collection and quite often use both modern and ancient architecture as inspiration as well as nature. We then zero in on the small details and take lines and shapes from the image to create the design lines of the shoes.

You source leathers and exotic skins from some of the top Italian tanneries. What about these materials make your shoes stand out from other lines? Has working with such high-end materials changed your perception of the footwear industry as a whole?
We absolutely love working with beautiful Italian leathers and exotic skins. The best quality materials make the shoe much more luxurious and comfortable. Snake and lizard leathers also have such a gorgeous texture that adds another dimension to the design.

There are so many footwear labels using low-end, cheap and plastic materials to keep the prices extremely low. This means you get what you pay for in terms of quality and comfort. Now we strive to use the best materials we can to ensure our shoes are luxurious, comfortable and the wearer will love them!

Do you look to forecasting trends for the colors and textures you use for your collections, or does the inspiration stem from inner creativity? Or is it a mix of both?
We build our colour palette from our images on our inspiration board. We love colour and leathers so we usually choose them first before we even start talking about design details for the collection. We don’t look at forecasting trends but design based on how we’re feeling and on what we would like to have in our shoe collections at that time! Of course, this means we need to wait six months for the shoe we’re coveting at the time, but it’s worth the wait!

Who and what inspires you? From nature to buildings, and blogs to other designers, where do you turn when a creativity block comes along?
Our design time is the most fun part of running the label so we usually come into it bursting with ideas and inspirations we’ve been dreaming about after the previous collection. There are a few amazing blogs including The Selby, Jak & Jil and Sea of Shoes we love looking at and some designers that inspire us are Dries Van Noten, Phoebe Philo of Celine and Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni.

It is so amazing tom gunn was awarded Footwear Designer of the Year at the 2010 2threads Fashion Awards. How has this changed the attention toward your brand?
Winning the 2Threads Footwear Designer of the Year was fantastic! It has certainly helped raise the profile of our brand and we have received many more inquiries and press.

You can learn more about tom gunn on the brand’s website.

LINK LOVE:Compass Starts Tomorrow

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Bed Stu

More preview looks at the Bed Stu Footwear for Spring 2011 after the click.

LINK LOVE:Bed Stu SS 2011 Preview

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Brazilian flip flop brand Havaianas will add sneakers and espadrilles to their line of footwear, selling for around $55 each pair.

LINK LOVE: Racked

Absolutely stunning, a total must have, to die for… Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Fall 2010.

LINK LOVE: Cyana TrendLand

 I mean, I already own  more than enough pairs of boots, but when I caught a glimpse of these by Bess,

Bess boots, $407

 I gasped in delight. The studs! The worn-in vintage leather! The roll-down tops that would pair well with jeans and tights! I picture myself sporting them with just about everything, until they become the perfect extension of myself and my signature footwear. Plus, they are unisex – ideal for a rock n’ roll couple to share.

For its second shoe debut, Elizabeth & James designed some amazing footwear for Fall.

Images via FabSugar

I’m prob gonna get a lot of hate-mail, but this footwear by Raf Simons is the ugliest foot attire I’ve ever seen. The design is so ridiculous and unrealistic that it baffles me, especially when I have to assume that cleaning in between the crevices is a chore…

If you date, these can be found at sevennewyork.com

SOURCE:ianterrell

Forever 21 has come out with a pair of Fringe Open Toe Boots ($35) that are nearly identical to the Alexander Wang’s Alexis Boot. Check out the comparison after the jump.

LINKAGE: The Look For Less: Alexander Wang Fringe Platforms