I’ve been meaning to talk about the Spring/Summer 2011 collection but never got round to it, partly because I’m not impressed with the efforts rolled out on the runway. In the footwear department, with a few notable exceptions here and there, most designers rolled out classic silhouettes such as espadrilles and more espadrilles which you can easily get in High Street shops, but none bothered me as much as Prada’s cheap-looking candy-cane mary-janes and especially the espadrille/foam platform brogues. You know what I’m talking about:

Vogue.com

The moment I saw them I thought of the horror which is:

I thought we’ve buried this in the 90s

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate flat shoes, and I own several pair of brogues which I’ve worn to death. However, adding jute and foam seems to have cheapened the shoes. Then again it doesn’t really matter in the inner circle of the high fashion community just because it’s PRADA, as evidenced by the numerous number of people sporting the brogues in Men’s Fashion Week.

Tommy Ton for GQ and Style.com

And with that, the foam brogues have become this season’s It shoes. Sure it can be whimsical and fun, but it’s not worth the money when I can DIY it myself.

well…. almost

Prada has also spearheaded the latest trend which has been aptly named FLATFORMS, together with Michael Kors and Derek Lam. I foresee a bleak future ahead, or at least til the Fall/Winter shows begin in a few weeks.

style.com

I secretly blame Phoebe Philo for this new wave of minimalism. As much as I love her clothes and bags, in fact I would love to own more of them (namely the Luggage), I was never agreeable with the Celine clogs, and now the trend has officially swept over the rest of the design houses. Let’s hope it’ll never come to this:

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