Julie Benasra's God save my shoes

Director: Julie Benasra

The documentary explores the complex and often fascinating world of women and their relationship to their footwear. The originall idea came from for the film’s producer Thierry Daher ( “Just For Kicks” a history of sneakers through hip hop) who thought a psycho-social profile of woemn and their shoes would also be interesting. Thierry invited Julie to direct it and she travelled the world interviewing shoe lovers, designers and experts (but not me ?). On screen interviews include Elizabeth Semmelhak (curator at the Bata Museum), shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, shoe collector, Beth Shak, and burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, among others. Interesting insight into the shoe psychology.

Traditional Espadrilles are hip fashion

Espadrilles have seen an upturn in popularity of late but the orginals are competing against cheap Asian imports which is threatening the long-held domestic industry in France. Tradionally based at the French Pyrenees, in Basque Country, there is a small municipality of Mauleon-Licharre where shoemaking, and the production of espadrilles, has a centuries-old tradition. Across the Spanish border the Catalonians can boast of a similar heritage. Lightweight fabric shoe with a woven hemp sole first made their appearance in the mid-18th century and soon become shoe of choice of soldiers and others who appreciated the shoe's flexibility and low cost. Later the espadrille became associated with Bohemians and celebrities like Pablo Picasso , Audrey Hepburn,and Grace Kelly. No self respecting lotus eater of the 50s and early 60s would be seen without their espadrilles. Up until the mid 50s all French miners were issued with a pair of espadrilles as standard kit but after this stopped and low cost footwear flooded in from China in the 70s sales of espadrilles dropped. The French still buy between five to six million pairs of espadrilles a year however over 80 per cent of the shoes come from Asia. Keen not to disappear the workshops of Mauleon-Licharre are trying to better market their handiwork. Companies like Prodiso still make their shoes entirely by hand, while others have added some type of mechanization to ramp up their distribution.

US Army says no to five fingered shoes

Seems the hierarchy of the US Army are not in favour of minimalist running shoes with all serving personnel now banned from wearing Vibram style shoes. Top brass feel the popular shoes “detract from a professional military image,” and soldiers are not allowed to wear them with the individual physical fitness uniform or when conducting physical training in military formation. Apparently the decision was based on the lack of conformity and the need for serving soldiers to foster a professional, conservative, nonfaddish image. The US Army stands alone in their decision and are unlikely to review it. In the Marine Corps there is no service wide ban on minimalist shoes but local commanders can ban the shoes, if they so wish. The US Air Force has taken an identical stance and serving personnel can wear them for PT.

What do you get when you pimpup the skate boot? : Vertiginous heels

The ice-skate-cum-high-heel shoe looks quirky but are walkable according to the designers, Canadian twins, Dean and Dan Caten . The faux ice skate is for show only but the heels are real and sit an extra two inches thanks to the addition of a rubber-bottomed metal skate. DSquared2's 'Skate Moss' boots hit the stores in November (ready for early winter) and start at a cold $1,485, per pair. Available at Zappos Couture.

adidas Adipure Trainers joins the barefoot runners

Adidas have entered the barfoot running race with the release of their first "barefoot" training shoe. Called, Adipure Trainers, it was designed to mimic the experience of exercising barefoot and serves as a cross between a glove for the feet and a traditional shoe. Adidas hopes to expand into the U.S. where fanatical runners and gym-goers love the minimum footwear. From a corporate perspective barefoot shoes make up a tiny fraction of the $22 billion U.S. athletic shoe industry, but it is one of the fast-growing categories. Sales have more than doubled in the past year to roughly $750 million, according to SportsOneSource. The practice of running in barefoot has not been without controversy with a significant number of barefoot shoe wearers reporting injuries. Manufacturers encourage runners to gradually make the switch form tradional runners to barefoot shoes. Rival, Nike is the world's biggest athletic company and has roughly 65 percent of the market. Vibram has about 10 percent of the market with its Five-Finger shoe, which encases each toe separately and has come to define the style.

Posh flats it out at Fashion Week on doctor's orders

Victoria Beckham slipped a disc following the birth of daughter Harper Seven and has been told by her doctors to wear sensible shoes at her Spring/Summer 2012 collection at New York Fashion Week. Rumour has it Ms Posh Spice’s feet will be encased in either Christian Louboutin or Roger Vivier flats.

God Save My Shoes - Production Diary - EPISODE 9 : AT THE BATA SHOE MUSEUM

Q&A Shoe Auction

Peter Gray drew international media attention when he threw his shoes at the former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard during Q&A (ABC) last year. He threw the shoes to protest Australia's decision to join the US led invasion of Iraq which overthrew the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein.

Sadly, not long after, Peter Gray died after a long battle with cancer. Before his death he asked his shoes be auctioned to raise money for the International Committee for the Red Cross and its work in Iraq. Former Prime Minister Howard was saddened to hear of Peter’s passing and he has endorsed the proposal to sell the shoes for charity.

The auction opens on Friday. For more informatiuon call the Red Cross on 1800 811 700. .

Cricketers can wear soccer boots

The Club, Facilities and Officials Group (CFOG) Cricket Scotland have pronounced players can wear football boots or any other form of footwear because there is nothing within the Laws of the Game that prevents it. Common sense should prevail when it comes to fielders/wicketkeepers wearing football studded boots and they do not field in positions where there is an opportunity for them to enter the match pitch, otherwise there should be no embargo.

Fat Aussie Barstard: Auction for charity

Louboutin versus YSL: Trademarks do not apply to fashion

Christian Louboutin has lost the battle to Yves Saint Laurent for the right to put red soles on shoes in a legal battle. A New York court took on the case of the two fashion foot labels in a bitter contest for the signature sole of Louboutin’s extremely expensive shoes. US District Judge, Victor Marrero ruled that even though Louboutin is well recognized for its red sole, it could not prevent rivals like YSL from doing the same thing. The million-dollar suit for "trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin" was filed in April in New York claiming that a series of YSL shoes would mislead consumers familiar with Louboutin's scarlet soles. Louboutin’s idea for red soles was copied from King Louis XIV's red-heeled dancing shoes. In 1992, he painted the bottom of a pair of shoes with red nail polish and launched a phenomenon. In 2008 he was awarded a trademark, and Louboutin lawyers began enforcing the mark to block knock-offs. In his judgement the judge ruled ‘the use of trademarks did not apply to fashion.’ Louboutin has until next Friday to give Judge Victor Marrero a good reason not to just rule that any shoemaker who wants to use red soles can use red soles.

Spotlight on Shoes Exhibtion: Kennebunk, Maine

The http://brickstoremuseum.org/">Brick Store Museum is hosting a new exhibition called ‘75 Years in the Life of a Collection: Spotlight on Shoes’. The shoe collection ranges from the early 18th century to today, and the display features some of the museum's stand-out pieces with interesting stories and design features. Small leather boots from the 1700s, 1915 high top heels, 1925 rhinestone-crusted heels, 1946 U.S. Navy pumps, and 1980 Coloriffic bridesmaid heels are a few of the selections representing the gifts and donations made to the museum over 75 years.

iTwist Footwear

Buying iTwist Footwear has never been easier now the company have launched their iTwist e-commerce site. iTwist Footwear’s innovative patented and patent-pending technology provides fun, fashionable and functional shoes for those who want shoes with a difference. Using their reversable technology iTwist footwear can be worn in four different ways. Twistovation™ developed by U Turn Sports gives extra dimension to traditional thongs.

toeslayer on the Couch

Vegan shoes: Out of Africa

SoleRebels, one of Africa’s leading green-footwear brands, has announced the launch of its new e-commerce website. The Ethiopia based company’s award winning eco-fashion shoes, nicknamed the ‘Nike of Africa’ are produced using indigenous practices such as hand-spun organic cotton and artisan hand-loomed fabric. Tires are also recycled and incorporated for soles. The end result is environmental-friendly and top quality, vegan footwear. SoleRebels footwear is also available for purchase on several online shopping sites including Amazon and Endless.com.

Annual Conference of the Australasian College of Podiatric Surgeons

Australasian College of Podiatric Surgeons Annual Symposium at the Burswood Convention Centre. Here is the conference blog

Killer Heels

Recently Thelma Carter was arrested and accused of murder in the first degree after she allegedly beat her live-in boyfriend to death with a stiletto high heel shoe.

Size of women's feet is on the increase

Apparently according to a recent survey conducted on behalf of Debenhams, many women are embarrassed to discuss the size of their feet. More than half suveyed fibbed about the size of their feet to their friends and partners. Seems too women’s feet have increased by an average size and a half in the past 20 years (from a 4½ to six six in the years 1990 – 2011). The rise in shoe sizes is attributed to women’s feet becoming broader rather than longer. Experts believe this may be due to the increasing average height and weight of the female population. Women said the worst thing about their size was shoe shopping and almost two thirds hated asking sales assistants for help. A further third were uncomfortable taking their shoes off in public. Over eighty per cent of women with size eight or nine feet say their large footprint makes them feel particularly ashamed. Debenhams sponsred the reaesh after it was realised there had been a soaring demand for size nine, ladies shoes. Demand for size nine women’s shoes was highest in the chain’s Dublin store, followed by London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.

Poker player has a stash of shoes

Beth Shak is aprofessional poker player, who has amassed more than 1,200 pairs of shoes . The shoe collection has been estimated at around $500,000.

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God save my shoes Trailer

A new documentary explores women's obsession with shoes and will have itse debut during Paris Fashion Week in October.The cameras walk viewers through corridors lined with footwear on shelf after shelf, to a room where editors are seen selecting designs for their next shoot. The documentary includes interviews with some of the industry's most influential designers, including Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hardy and Bruno Frisoni of Roger Vivier. Fergie and Kelly Rowland also discuss their passions for heels, while avid collectors, such as Beth Shak, who has over 1,200 pairs of shoes show off their collections. Director Julie Benasra has worked on a number of French-American documentaries, describes the film as 'a quest to decipher - from a psychological, sociological, historical, cultural, and erotic perspective - the fiery emotions that shoes exert on most women.'

A girl like me: Shoe Revolt

A Girl Like Me (promo) from Shoe Revolt on Vimeo.

Chinese street basketball forges new kicks' design

When Nike  designers discovered Chinese street basketball players wear anything to withstand brutal outdoor heat and protect them from the hard asphalt underfoot. They devloped a hardwearing composite called Hyperfuse, then discovered the new material gave extra vibrant colours whenmixed with dyes. Keep to capitalise on the popularity of the game in China they produced Air Max 90 and the Air Force in Hyperfuse. According to Nike Nike Hyperfuse composite system offers a superior stability layer, a breathable mesh layer, and a durable outer skin layer that combine to give footwear new strength, breathability and lightweight (at roughly 12.5 ounces for a size 9). The manufacture of Nike Hyperfuse has changed the way footwear is made. Hyperfuse “fuses” its distinct layers into a composite using a unique manufacturing method, eliminating the need to manually stitch together footwear materials.

Wen Jiabao wears New Balance

Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao wears New Balance running shoes and sported them recently at the wreath laying ceremony to honor victims killed in a recent train crash in Wenzhou, China.

Serial foot fetishist at large

Police have arrested an alleged serial foot fetishist who lured foreign women to his home near Paris with the promise of a warm bed but instead pleasured himself on their feet.  The unnamed man, aged 42, from Mantes-la-Jolie to the west of Paris, allegedly approached young women at night after they missed the last train and offered them somewhere to sleep.Once at home, he announced that he was a podiatrist and began massaging the unsuspecting women's feet, before moving on to sucking their toes and then masturbating against their feet.He dutifully returned the women to the train station the next morning. A complaint lodged by a South Korean woman led police to open an inquiry during which they found three other women allegedly attacked in a similar way between 2008 and 2011.