Architectural (Shoe) Digest

Firstly, apologies for being away so long from the blog. Thanks to my laptop having a prolonged stay in the computer hospital, I have gone without surfing the internet for most of the festive period, and am now more than eager to catch up on regular blog posts. So, what better a way to start the New Year than with a post about my favourite shoe designer.

Camilla Skovgaard

Originating from Denmark, Camilla Skovgaard began her career in couture in Dubai at the age of 20 designing for the region's Sheikh's wives and daughters. After seven years, Skovgaard moved to London to study her MA at Cordwainers Shoe College in footwear design and product development; Saks Fifth Avenue bought her first collection while she was still a student. She has won a string of awards since graduating from The Royal College of Art in 2006, culminating in Accessories Designer of the Year at DANSK Fashion Awards in June 2011.

Camilla Skovgaard's website describes her shoes as "the combination of contrasting elements such as fluidity and severity, restraint and sophistication play an integral part of the character of her design". They are more like art than a form of chiropedic protection from the hard pavement beneath us. The reason why she is my favourite shoe designer is because her collections are so unique, meaning they (and inadvertently you) stand out from the crowd, stopping the fashion pack in their tracks. The severe lines- the jagged soles in particular- automatically update any outfit, and look best with a minimal amount of accessories and jewellery. That is not to say a stonking diamond ring would go amiss! Check out some of my favourite Camilla Skovgaard designs from over the years below:

Fabulous food for the sole, non?

Peace
x

A Shoe to Walk All Over All Shoes

I am, by all accounts, short. I come up to most men’s armpits. What makes matters worse is the fact my best friends are all 5’7” and above. I worked out early on that a low centre of gravity and nosebleed-inducing heels would be a necessity if I ever wanted to be noticed when in their company, without falling face first. A few years of tottering around in cheap peep-toes and the like, increasing in height as fashion dictated, soon followed this revelation. But even I wasn’t prepared for the unleashing of six inchers with hidden platforms we’re supposed to pose, dance and, God forbid, walk in. Ever the optimist, I gave them a go and inevitably fell head-over-heels on several occasions. I’ve now accumulated the nick-name ‘Bambi On Ice’. Still, God loves a trier.

Then Camilla Skovgaard entered my radar. Her elegant sandals and ankle boots look more like architecture than something purely to cover your feet. Her designs are made tough and brutal by their tyre-tread half inch sole (similar to a row of Alan Carr’s teeth). They seem almost too good to be true. Are they made for wearing? Are they even shoes? Should they be put on a mantle? All viable questions I pondered while viewing pairs online.

Until I saw them for real in Dover Street Market. My heart raced. My hands went clammy. I could hear myself chanting “Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod!” Who knows how long I’d whispering my mantra for. I didn’t care: all logic had gone straight out the third floor window. I just knew I needed them. A peep-toe ankle boot was seductively purring “buy me and we’ll walk all over your leggy companions together”.

Short of leaving the store with a Skovgaard-shaped pregnancy belly that day, I’ll have to wait to save up for the shoe I was born for – neigh – the shoe that was made for me. One day we will unite, walk into a room and claim: “We’ve grabbed your attention and look like a fashion rockstar, but make fun of our artistic panache and we’ll kick your ass”. And by God we will. Even if I fall over doing so.

Bow to the all-powerful shoe: