Spring/Summer 2010 Shoes - Hapsical's Guide

Op Art at Givenchy - images from NY Mag, click to see more.

It's that time of year again when, after all the fashion shows for the next season have happened, we do a huge image drop post, looking at the best (and worst) of the new season's shoes. Part of the recent (increased) obsession with shoes is to do with the fact that they often capture the entire essence of the whole collection, distilled down into several single accessories, which indeed makes shoes interesting to look about when we're thinking about the collections.

For the last few seasons, vertiginous platform heels have been the biggest and most consistent footwear trend to emerge from the runway (the apex was perhaps reached in Prada's spring/summer 2009 show, where several models came quite literally crashing down to earth), but recently we've begun to sense a shift towards lower shoes, and heels without a platform. A significant number of designers still showed towering platforms (most notably Alexander McQueen who took the height right up to thirteen inches, and played with proportion - as a result, handily generating headlines, in both the fashion and non-fashion media, around the world...) so the trend is far from dead; nonetheless, lower styles, in particular the low heel and the flat platform, were given more of an airing than in previous seasons, and we think it's definitely an emerging trend to watch.

We'll start by looking at the designers who were still playing it high:

The shoes, the shoes, the shoes at Alexander McQueen... so much has been said about them, there isn't really much more to add. Actually, we find them somewhat ugly isolated (although they do sort of work with the clothes as part of the full picture) and they don't represent McQueen's really stunning SS10 collection very well, but at least they're original, at least none of the models fell and broke any limbs... Was McQueen reinforcing the supreme reign of the towering platform, or was it a parody of fashion's obsession with height in footwear, and a signal perhaps of a footwear transition?

Images from Style.com - click to see more.

High and chunky at Miu Miu, with a sort of 70s vibe thanks to the prints which ran throughout the rest of the collection too:

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Soft draping contrasted to the unforgiving height and thick transparent platforms at Fendi:

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Neutral colours prevailed at Burberry Prorsum, where the platforms were as high as ever and there were hints at bondage courtesy of the knots and straps which wrapped the feet:

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Suede at Yves Saint Laurent, with a bar perpendicular to the heel adding variation to the silhouette:

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At Jil Sander, Raf Simons used a metal loop heel and a heavy metal platform with a variety of different styles:

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Wooden soled platform clogs are the unlikely footwear of choice for the Chanel girl next spring:

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Transparency was the name of the game at Prada, where heels and straps were made of clear plastic, and some shoes were adorned with crystals. As with fall/winter 09's waders, these seem somewhat questionable now but, by the time the season actually comes around, they'll doubtless be 'must haves,' and their influence will probably have spread to countless mass market interpretations (although the thought of cheap, transparent shoes flooding the market doesn't exactly inspire feelings of great joy):

Images from Style.com - click to see more.

Prints, combined with mirror finish, thick and slightly recessed platforms, curvaceous lines, and colour blocks lent the shoes at Versace a futuristic vibe:

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At Gareth Pugh, the shoes had that unmistakable Pugh edge, but they were softer looking than before, and were generally rather amazing:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Cut-away wooden wedges at Roberto Cavalli:

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The screw shaped heel added a subversive edge at Christopher Kane:

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Bright, white and very high at Gucci:

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Sonia Rykiel went for glamour with crystals and transparent details:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

The shoes at DSquared2 could have come straight from a fetish store:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Old school glamour and sex appeal at Lanvin:

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Nicholas Kirkwood created extraordinary shoes at Rodarte, which seemed at once both pre-historic and futuristic:

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The shoes at Giambattista Valli were high T-bar platforms, with snakeskin finish:

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At Viktor & Rolf, the shoes were heavily embellished with flowers:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

High leather sandals with thin heels at Emilio Pucci:

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Christian Louboutin created the shoes at Marchesa, which had sheer, nude coloured panels:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Elegance at Dries van Noten:

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Topshop Unique had a Balenciaga-ish moment:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

The shoes at Vera Wang were 'wrapped' in black leather:

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Interesting silhouettes at Rick Owens:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Towering wedges at Christian Dior, some in bright jewel hues:

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Interesting shape and colours at Proenza Schouler:

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Classic leather with a 'tribal' twist at Hermès:

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The rather incredible shoes at Valentino were created by hat designer Philip Treacy, and interestingly you can really see the influence of a milliner in the way in which the black lace stands:

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Colour blocks and metallic at Basso and Brooke:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Burlesque themed at John Galliano:

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The shoes at Celine were tall wooden platform wedges, which add height whilst having the foot inclined only at a low angle:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Crooked, curved heels, pink, and black ribbon and lace alluded to a sort of retro sex appeal at Nina Ricci:

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The shoes at Jean-Charles de Castelbajac were just as fun as you would expect, either being covered in deliberately tacky plastic jewels, or having an animal theme (is it a shark?!)

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

The wedges at Givenchy had plenty of urban, 'cool appeal.' We particularly liked the ones in vivid, Op Art inspired prints.

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The relaxed looking brightly coloured string and espadrille style raffia soles constrasted to the towering stiletto heels at Kenzo:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

For spring/summer 2010, Nicholas Kirkwood used his signature wedged-platform shape in new, vivid prints, whilst also experimenting with new shapes:

Top image from Image from Jak & Jil, bottom image from Style Bubble - click to see more of the collection.

Sculptural heels at Gianfranco Ferré:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Christian Louboutin did the shoes for both RM Roland Mouret (below left) and Giles Deacon (below right). We rather like the Mouret ones, which are almost like a Louboutin take on the YSL cage boots...

Images from NY Mag - click here to see more Roland Mouret detail shots, and here to see more Giles Deacon detail shots.

And now, starting with the somewhat dubious Giles pointed toe kitten heeled shoe (above), we'll look at the designers who favoured lower heights for SS10:

The shoes at Calvin Klein were gently inclined, minimalist sandals supported by a thick platform sole:

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Jean Paul Gaultier went for cut-out combat boots, which combine a sort of hard-edged masculinity with a cheeky sex appeal in his signature way:

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The shoes at Marni had very thin, very low heels:

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Yohji Yamamoto did men's style lace-ups, some with an added heel, with silver toe detailing:

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Nicholas Kirkwood showed some flat styles for SS10 too, like these rather cool pink sandals:

Image from Style Bubble - click to see more.

After a few seasons of doing very dark, very high shoes, Stella McCartney went for a more relaxed look, favouring mid-low height heels and wedges in natural cork:

Images from Style.com - click to see more.

At Missoni, low, thin heels supported relatively thick-soled sandals, with coloured string embellishment:

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Junya Watanabe did some very cool menswear inspired flats, with sharp geometric lines:

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New depths of ugliness were reached at Louis Vuitton as far as the shoes were concerned. But was it all some sort of elaborate joke? Still, the only sort of person we can really imagine wearing these would be that very uptight, sort of New York uptown fashionista (who's all about print and colour and silk; always 'classic,' never 'fierce'), who would doubtlessly take them very seriously indeed:

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At Chloé, the buckles, different hued leathers and canvas inserts made for some rather cool flats and low heels:

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The thick, espadrille style sole also appeared at Rochas:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Vivienne Westwood showed some interesting flats, as well as mid height heels, with a loose 'draped' effect:

Images from NY Mag - click to see more.

Finally, Marc Jacobs also showed flats with a platform, which had a vaguely Oriental theme and added glamour thanks to the metallic finish:

Images from Style.com - click to see more.

So there you have it, an almost definitive guide to spring/summer 2010's runway shoes. What do you like the best, and hate the most?

As well as the move towards lower heights, particularly towards flats with platforms, another trend seems to be for natural materials (wood, cork, raffia), although at the same time transparent plastic could also be set for a comeback thanks to Prada, Fendi, and Sonia Rykiel..