Ethnic and Co.
Wedges, version 2012
Despite the fact that wedges were inducted into the Fashionable Footwear Hall of Fame decades ago, they continue to evolve almost every season into new esthetic fads. Wedges version 2012 have, with a nod to their famous cork ancestors (in part, a result of the lack of leather in the 1940s), gone retro, i.e. at Lanvin, Jimmy Choo and Chloé.
It wasn’t easy to find something redeeming about the sandals that shod Christopher Kane SS2012 models. With their rubber soles and chunky look, they looked like they should have been in a sporting goods shop window.
Pastels, mix-n-match, handcrafting, mutant soles and retro touches, SS2012 shoes will be competing in inventiveness. It remains to be seen if the mule will make its comeback, if fish skins will steal the spotlight from metallics, or if luxury-hiking sandals will be considered elegant…