Flutter into my Dreams

The borders between whimsical, quirky and odd can be pretty thin. Especially when you are dealing with concept work.  But I love that Alberto Guardiani and i-D Magazine are open to exploring in that region.

Last year their Cinderthriller design contest brought us the lipstick heel.  I especially love the mesh version with the crystal embellished tube.

And this year's judges made a great selection in the Flutterby pump created by Lady San Pedro.

These heels are adorable and I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Now take my money!

Barefooting

I've been reading more about barefoot running. I used to run (and need to find time to get back at it) and always herd that you need a "performance" shoe to run safely.  But from what I've been reading, most of the injuries are coming due to these padded and springy shoes, mostly because our body has to compensate for the non-natural movement of landing on the cushion.  Which can cause twists and sprains.

But I'm not comfortable going barefoot in general, much less running out on the road.  The "shoes" that I am most interested in are the Vibram FiveFingers options.  I'm going to have to find a local store because I'm afraid they won't have my size.  From what I've seen they don't start until size 6.

In the meantime, I'm keeping my eye on other options and found this Nike graduation project concept for performance foot stickers.

The yoga version provides minimal coverage with extra grip to help keep you planted.

The Combat Cardio sticker has more coverage, medium traction and extra heel protection.

The Dance version has less traction so the wearer can glide across the floor yet still have their heel and the ball of their foot covered.

Sadly these are still only conceptual but with the technology they could be produced and the market is there.  It's an interesting blend of new capabilities paired with basic physiology.   I'm excited to see what comes of it and what new ideas come to light.

All Wrapped Up

I've always wondered why things that are meant to be functional can't also be beautiful.

One of my biggest peeves is when you see a product that is designed to disguise or cover up something functional and needed but ugly. For example those tacky fake plastic "rocks" used to cover meters. Usually you see these right in the middle of an empty suburban lawn. Who are we kidding with these? Why can't companies just make the meters better looking? Ugh!

Okay, sorry for the rant....

Anyway, after seeing Lady Coveted's coverage on "medic esthetic-inspired" shoes you could begin to see how this could be done. Take typically utilitarian materials and look at it in a new way. Make it beautiful. The pieces showcased in Gwendolyn Huskens' show were for a show but what if we embraced the simple beauty of the materials themselves. And brought some of that back to when they were used for their original purposes?



Okay, I think I'm letting my advertising/design background carry me away.

What I also thought when I saw these images was... "I would totally wear some of those, especially that bandage-bootie!"

And now I can.

I'm seriously kind of in love with these Toms wrap boots.



I'm not quite sure where I will wear them, but I think I need to have them. They look cozy and comforting and stretchy and weird.



Maybe I just want to look cool (& hot!) like Padme....



... or Luke? I'm a child of the era, so it's hard to say.

More on Gwendolyn

- by Today and Tomorrow

- by DesignBoom