So, I'm going to post a piece of work that I handed in on monday. It's based on the Colin McDowell's 'Fashion Moment' prices he used to write for the Sunday Times Style, and we had to do our own, based on his style. I ended up doing the platform shoe. I have to say I personally don't like it... It didn't go as planned... I think once I'd gotten it done I just wanted to be happy with having work out of the way
Here goes...
Funky, chunky, clunky; the platform shoe has many admirers, and just as many loathers. It is a style that divides a nation of women. Long associated with the seventies, this style truly emerged many years before in Ancient Greece to raise the height of important characters. It is believed they were revived in 18th century Europe to avoid the grime on the streets, and again in the thirties, forties and fifties in America and Europe.
The arrival of ‘disco’ - with wide-legged pants and sequins - asked for something high and something outstanding to accompany the outfits. This revival, however, seemed to lack the glamour and femininity of the forties, and perhaps this is why the seventies is referred to as ‘the decade that taste forgot’. In the beginning, they were merely blocks of wood or cork with leather straps to stop them from falling off the wearer’s feet, but as the decade progressed, so did the variations of the platform. Even men caught onto the trend, and the likes of David Bowie and Elton John were wearing their own sparkly versions. The trend soon calmed down and platforms sat quietly in the corner waiting for their next big come back.
We have Vivienne Westwood and the Spice Girls to thank for the platforms of the nineties; despite Naomi Campbell’s infamous fall and Emma Bunton breaking her ankle, the fashion forward and devoted fans still hobbled along in their super sized soles. Then once again, the stiletto took over as a more glamorous option - that is until Louboutin platforms became the hot red-carpet shoe and the YSL Tribute shoes were the next ‘must haves’. Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is still inspiring many women with her love for insanely high heels, and this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. As the fashion focus has become more about the ‘statement’ shoes - as opposed to the ‘statement’ handbag – designers are going to many lengths to create the shoe of the season, sending many a model tumbling down the catwalks for the likes of Prada and Gucci. Better put the chiropodist on speed dial.
PS. Please buy me the Kurt Geiger's. I've been lusting after the navy diamante ones since September, and now this pearly pair have grown on me... £300 though?
