The Shoe Show

2009-03-11T14:05:00.001-07:00

Higher and Higher....Heels of Steel

The debate continues in this excellent feature by Hadley Freeman in todays G2 in The Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/11/fashion-high-heels

I made two programmes which explored high heels and barely scratched the surface. Apart from the history of the high heel, and the history of the design of the high heel, this is about politics, sex and spirituality- no? Yes.

I will write more about this when I have some time.

2009-03-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Marloes ten Bohmer

I interviewed this gifted and original designer for one of The Shoe Show programmes. She has patented some of the new technologies and materials she uses to make her extraordinary and beautiful couture shoes, and is currently part of the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year show at the Design Museum, showing now until June 14.

For more information visit http://www.designsoftheyear.com/

Marloes's website at http://marloestenbhomer.squarespace.com/

2009-03-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Shoe Show - A Slight Return

The Shoe Show was aired on Resonance FM from January to April 2006. Each show was 15 minutes long and there were 13 episodes in the series. I researched, wrote, interviewed, presented and produced all of it, including writing and performing the theme tune. The editing and engineering was done mainly by the amazingly talented Beepoid Poolord.

I had a life-changing adventure making this show and will always be grateful to Resonance for commissioning me to make it, and allowing me complete creative control. I made the shows myself, exactly as I wanted them to be,within the constraints of little resources and finance and no experience whatsoever of making programmes for radio.

It was a fabulous opportunity and although the shows were by no means perfect, and if I was making them now would probably be different - wonderful thing hindsight, I am still pleased with them. I was self-indulgent at times but having always worked with other people on creative projects I decided to let myself go a bit mad when I wanted to.

I was half way through gathering material for another series and had lots of interviews recorded and another 13 programmes all planned but life took over and everything went on hold and then came to a fairly final halt. My mum died in 2006 and then I fell pregnant so I was unable to do all the final tidying up and say all the thank-yous I needed to say from the first series. I was then unable to make the second series but maybe it will become a book...who knows.

My love of all things shoe continues but where I had been developing a slight high heel habit I have now gone back to flat shoes. Pushing a buggy is great when I'm wearing MBTs but not so great in clog-heeled platform boots!

I now have collection of very small shoes and boots belonging to my son. I am being very good and not keeping all of them but a couple of pairs will be kept for posterity, and sheer cuteness!

The photo is of Sam's first pair of summer shoes, Doodles from Clarks.

2006-09-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

More Shoes!

Check out New Look (if you are a shoe-a-holic you will already have got a cheap 'fix' from their great selection of cheap and cheerful footwear) on the web here: http://www.newlook.co.uk/moreshoes/moreshoes.html

I am very impressed with the range, value and quality of their footwear- they seem to have something f0r eveyone this season-

I've just bought 2 pairs of high-heeled lace ups (one with a brogue style and a pair of patent black pointy oxfords- yum!) at £20 a pop- AND I can actually walk in them and I am not great at wearing high heels for any length of time...these get my vote.

2006-08-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

PopstarFeets!

I would just like to recommend this marvellous London-based web resource for all those people out there who have a hankering to know what their indie-music-type bands are wearing on their 'plates' whilst treading the golden cobbles or gig-type-venues of our beloved 'Smoke.

Although having said that the picture above- although sporting plenty of beer and fags (oh yes, so rock n roll...) is of one of my shoes. I can no longer claim any band membership or musical type rocknrollness- unless you count the theme tune I recorded for the show...nah...

Cor luv a Duck

Please see Links section for gorgeous Rock n Roll shoe-bee-doos...

2006-08-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Carole Hodgson's Charles Jourdan Shoes

Check out these beautiful, exquisitely designed Charles Jourdan shoes which belong to the artist Carole Hodgson. They are divine, and too small for me to wear ( probably a very good thing or the temptation to wear them would too much to bear!). Carole says she remembers buying them in the '60s in Bond Street.

For further info

rmation about Char

les Jourdan and Car

ole Hodgson please the links on the RHS of the page. Thanks Carole!

2006-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Nothing Short Ov a Total (Trainer) Love - In

It all started so innocently, a Saturday afternoon in Bristol, idling away around the kitchen table at Tim and Lou's (or 'Hotel Sultana') with a glass of wine and some cheese and biscuits....talk turned to trainers and before we knew it a full-on trainer 'Love-In' developed with trainers from all personages present getting in to it...maaan...

Me and Matt & Lou and Tim

What fine hospitality and what fine shoes!

Cheers me ole luvvers as they sez in Brizzol

2006-06-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

TEDS 'N' BOOTS

POPAGANDA: The Fashion & Style of JC de Castelbajac
1 February to 1 May 2006

at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Sadly this show is now finished but check out this jacket made from Converse Allstar Baseball Boots!

Very wacky, ahead of its time, beautifully made and very wearable clothing, footwear and accessories. Not to mention highly influential!

Please see JC de Cast elb ajac 's s ite here

2006-06-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

Let's get this SHOE on the road!

Due to unforeseen circumstances I have had to take a break from all things shoe-related (apart from my own personal day-to-day shoe lustings!) but now I am back.

So much to write about- so much to see - so many shoes to try on, wear, talk about and fall over in!

MBTs UPDATE

If you saw my post on MBTs - I have been waering them almost every day since I got them and I DO think they have made a difference to my posture and the muscles in my legs. I have been doing nothing else fitness or diet-related during this time (I last blogged about MBTs on 5th April- so quite a while ago) and have stuck to my usual regime of lots of walking and lots of croissants, coffee, red wine and chocolate. I am NOT recommending this as a way of getting fit or being healthy but only that the only thing that could have made a difference to the shape and improved (slightly) muscle tone and cellulite must be those shoes.

More to come on this- my friend has got a pair and hers came with a DVD so we are going to watch it next week and see if we are walking correctly whilst wearing them, to maximise the benefits.

More Exciting NEWS - I am not shoe-ing off, honest!

I have just embarked on training for a half marathon (yes- obviously lost the plot a bit there- but it seems like a good idea!) with my good friend and fellow MBT wearer (see elsewhere for a pic of us with a Vivienne Westwood shoe) Mel.

What on earth has this got to do with shoes? Running shoes- currently, mine are Saucony, Smell's are Adidas (correct me if I'm wrong babe). So, as neither of us have ever run a half-marathon before, it is a great opportunity to look at and review running shoes - look at the construction, design, materials etc. BUT, most importantly, whether they do the job thay are made for! We will be running 2-3 times a week so there is mucho running shoe research to do!

Any thoughts on running shoes would be much appreciated.

2006-04-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Programme 13: Its the Last 'Shoe' in the Series....

Broadcasting Tuesday April 25th 2006

Well, that went quickly! This week I take a look back at the series and also talk about my own shoes, some of which you can see below. The shoe on my foot is one of the LK Bennett silver raw silk kitten-heeled mules I got married in...

Below you can see my trusty old New Rock boots, which lace through a hole in the middle of the metal heel and have survived 2 (yes-1997 and 1998) wet and very muddy Glastonbury festivals! Also below are my wosh trainers with the gold wedge heel, the black and white brothel creepers I got from Shelleys for a fiver but are very stiff and therefore very uncomfortable. In the foreground are my Red or Dead suede shoes that I got in 1990 and wore when I saw the Cocteau Twins play at the Town and Country Club in Kentish Town.

There will be a new series of The Shoe Show in Autumn 2006. The first series will be repeated during the summer (times and days to be confirmed).

I will be spending the next few months researching, writing, interviewing and gathering information for the next series. I will continue to update the blog regularly so please pop back and visit for news, views, stories and general footwear information and pictures!

There will be an hour long Shoe Show special on Terry de Havilland on May 10th at 7pm (more details to follow).

*A BIG THANK YOU!*

to everyone who helped to make The Shoe Show possible and to everyone who featured on the shows. Thanks especially to all at Resonance FM, to Kutsal Bilgin for engineering the first half of the series, special thanks to Poolord for his time, help and expertise, and to James DC for suggesting I make it in the first place (and for his constant vigilance regarding "Levels!")

2006-04-22T02:43:00.000-07:00

What a Croc!

I have now received my crocs from the lovely people at Crocshop and they are VERY comfortable, colourful and cool (and YELLOW!). Please see the links scetion for the Crocshop website. I mentioned Crocs on the show a couple of weeks ago- they are starting to appear in shops in the UK now but have been very popular in the US for the last few years. They are made from Croslite, a closed cell resin, which makes them very light and also they can be sterilised so are popular with people working in medicine. The sole is orthotically designed (if you look at the picture above on the right you can see the 'footprint' inside. I would recommend them to anyone who needs something light and supportive to wear on their feet. The first pair I got felt too big, but were actually the right size if you go by the instructions. They are supposed to have a very loose fit, with the sides of your foot and your toes not actually making contact with the shoe- but this felt very odd and when I spoke to Karen at the Crocshop she said lots of people have found the same thing, and actually feel better wearing a smaller size- maybe we just need that bit of restriction over here -we're not so happy to 'hang loose'...?!
Anyway, the smaller size is just right and I am looking forward to getting lost of wear out of them over the Summer.

Check this out! Thanks to Kerra Mitchell (who has been doing work experience at Resonance FM) for this link: http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/13/shoes_made_out_of_co.html
Shoes made from a computer keyboard!

2006-04-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

Programme 12: Walk a Mile in My Shoes ~ Bedwyr Williams at Beck Futures, ICA

Broadcasting Tuesday 18th April 2006

My Nieces Emily and Charlotte agreed to act as 'guineapigs' and went along to the ICA Beck Futures show with me to have a look at Bedwyr Williams's installation Walk a Mile in My Shoes. The installation was born from the difficulties Bedwyr has experienced in being able to find shoes to fit his size 13 feet. We spent some time trying on some of the various shoes on display- everything from golfing shoes to Elvis boots!

This is what Bedwyr says: “This work is about an aspect of my life that has ruined walking trips, beach holidays, weddings and football games. I have size 13 feet. Since I was 18 I have struggled with shoe availability. The choice in my size is limited. You see a shoe that you like and when the mini-foot shop assistant brings it out in a size 13 it is a strange stretched version of the smaller, original shoe. Each of the 40+ shoes in the piece have been tracked down, none were bought off the shelf. Walk a mile in my shoes is an invitation to share a little of my ongoing shoe struggle. Try them on you’ll grow into them.”

Emily trying on some Nike trainers because she said they were a bit 'me'; Charlotte contemplates the installation (or gets comfy on the 'shoe shop' seating...!); Check out those brogues!

Each pair of shoes has a parcel label tied to it which has a story or some information or thoughts relating to them.

Charlotte tries on the Heartfelt bootees, specially made for Bedwyr by someone called Liz, with a yin yang symbol on each one and a lace with an owlfeather around the top of each bootee. Charlotte particularly liked these and apparently Bedwyr is missing them whilst they are in the show as they are good to wear whilst watching the telly.

We had a look at the rest of the Beck Futures show and there was plenty to see! Works by others on the shortlist include Simon Popper’s reinterpretation of James Joyce’s Ulysses with the words printed alphabetically (one of Emily's favourites); Blood ‘n’ Feathers’ luscious paintings which seek to investigate Rock and Roll mythology (we all liked the paintings- great use of colour and all found the use of text, or hints of it, very interesting); Stefan Brüggemann’s text piece of over 700 possible exhibition titles, an offer to the curators of all three Beck’s Futures exhibitions to choose a ready-made title; Jamie Shovlin’s assemblage of memorabilia of the rock band Lustfaust, part of the experimental music scene of 1970s Berlin; Flávia Müller Medeiros’ video work, Inaugurate (2005), which marries found footage from the film Easy Rider to a recording of George Bush’s second inauguration speech read by an actor in the style of an American car salesman.

Charlotte and Emily were very surprised that Bedwyr's shoes were 'just there' and that you could touch them and try them on- unlike most artworks on display which you are most cetainly NOT encouraged to touch! This added to the appeal of Bedwyr's installation- it was fun and easy to engage with- and therefore actively thought provoking.

Very enjoyable and, of course, perfect Shoe Show material!

The 13 short listed artists are: Blood ‘n’ Feathers (Jo Robertson and Lucy Stein), Pablo Bronstein, Stefan Brüggemann, Richard Hughes, Flávia Müller Medeiros, Seb Patane, Olivia Plender, Simon Popper, Jamie Shovlin, Daniel Sinsel, Matt Stokes, Sue Tompkins and Bedwyr Williams.

Beck’s Futures gives a £20,000 overall award to one artist from the shortlist. This year a public vote will enable visitors to participate in the selection of the award-winner. You will be able to register your views — alongside those of judges Jake and Dinos Chapman, Martin Creed, Cornelia Parker, Yinka Shonibare MBE and Gillian Wearing —at any of the participating venues (ICA, Centre for Contemporary Art in Glasgow, Arnolfini in Bristol) or online at www.becksfutures.co.uk

Good Luck Bedwyr!

The winner is announced on 2nd May and the show goes on at the ICA until the 14th May. Please see the Links section for more information>>>

2006-04-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ooh La La!

Saturday night at Volupte in Norwich Street, Chancery Lane, London. Dinner and dancing with a French themed cabaret and burlesque from Brighton's Vavavavoom. Mel is holding on to my foot, which is encased in a gorgeous Vivienne Westwood shoe! There are two pairs of Vivienne Westwood shoes on display there and we couldn't resist giving them a try...

2006-04-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

Programme 11: They're shoes but not as we know them ~ Creating new typologies with Marloes Ten Bhomer.

It really was very exciting to talk to Marloes about her footwear designs, methods of working, her inspirations and influences.

It has left me wanting to know more! I think it will be very interesting to see what the reaction will be once this shoe (pictured above, and discussed in the programme, which is going to be manufactured) goes into the shops.

Having looked at the designs and concept behind United Nude, the design company Marloes is collaborating with, I think they will do justice to what I feel is an important step (!) forward for footwear design.

As she says herself, "By introducing forms, a wide variety of materials, ways of construction to my work, that are unfamilar to shoe-design, the traditional meaning of shoes and the preconceptions we have about them are broken down."

Marloes has designed and made shoes using everything from carbon fibre, to a leather mache (a bit like papier mache) shoe called Bluemacheshoe, which are both pictured here.

I can't wait to see Marloes does next!

Please see the links section for Marloes's web site and United Nude's web site.

2006-04-08T01:05:00.000-07:00

Crikey, my legs feel like they've walked for miles! I do a fair bit of walking each day but I think after waering the MBTs for 3 days, the effects are now making themselves known! My legs aren't hurting but have that 'well-used' feel you get after going for a long, long walk (or, if you go to Glastonbury Festival and get used to walking around 10ish miles of site for 3-5 days, you will understand what I mean). So, something is happening anyway! I am having a break from them over the next couple of days. I am dressing up as a beatnik for a night called Vavavoom in London, and MBTs won't do the job. So ballet pumps for me, for today and tomorrow. Then back to the MBTs on Monday!

I am off to make the next show today-more on this when it is done- but wait til you see the photos I've got! The shoes will confuse and excite, I am sure...

2006-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Ok- I've been bad and spent A LOT of money (although we're not talking Miu Miu or Manolo, it is still a lot of 'monola' for me!) on a pair of MBTs. I think they look pretty groovy and I have worn them all day today. They definitely make you stand differntly, and it has been more of an effort to walk (it's supposed to feel like you're walking across sand- and it is like that to an extent). I have been advised not to wear them every day as apparently I need to break myself in gently- a bit like you do when you go to the gym...?? I wouldn't know as I don't go to the gym, so I am going to see if my legs ache when I get up and if they don't I'm going to be wild and crazy and wear them again tomorrow- I am so 'achingly' rock n roll maaan.

More on MBTs to come. I am intending to wear them 3-4 days a week at least and will be reporting on whether I feel I have benefitted from stomping about in them.

2006-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Programme 10: Stories of the Shoes with Amelia Pearson

Broadcasting Tuesday 4th April 2006

Amelia Pearson is a writer and shoe fanatic, with a wealth of stories to tell about her shoes, where she got them, wore them and the memories associated with them. I talked to Amelia about how and where her fascination with footwear started and we talked about some of her fabulous shoes and boots.

I nipped in to see Amelia this afternoon and she kindly modelled some of the shoes and boots for me to take photos. It was great fun and one of my favourite

shows so far!

Thanks to Amelia - please see the Links section on this page for Amelia's blog, under the name Ramonaramone.

2006-03-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

We did Programme 8 on Sunday, which is all about Clown shoes, and I have to say I am really pleased with it- I think it may well turn out to be one of my favourites. I hope if you listen in next week (Tuesday 21st March 4.45-5pm on Resonance FM) that you enjoy it. More info on this programme to come...

My sister texted me a link to www.bibaexperience.com today. The BIBA brand is being re-launched, funnily enough with shoes and bags first. Check out the shoes- they are fabalicious!

I am considering trying out MBT (http://www.mbt-uk.com/) shoes over the Summer and reporting back on the results in the next series of The Shoe Show.

2006-03-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

These days most of my time and thinking is devoted to the subject of shoes...which has become normal for me now (!) but some people still find it difficult to believe that I can make a radio show week after week about the marvellous subject of shoes... Well, I would say it depends on how broadly you want to define the subject. If I were just to talk about shoes, actual descriptions of peoples' shoes would become repetitious and boring after a while-so the context is all important. And I think it's all about people and their experience(s) of and surrounding shoes. And that goes just about as far as you want to take it!
So the series so far has included something about the history of shoemaking, footwear education today, medieval pointy shoes, high heels and fetish and the last show was an interview with 'Mr Shoe' Terry de Havilland, who has been called 'the forgotten genius of shoe design'.
I've been thinking about the next programme I'm going to make and really it's about the stories we tell about our shoes, and about ourselves. Each shoe has its own story and its own set of associations...

2006-03-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

I've been promising myself I would set up a blog as an adjunct to The Shoe Show on Resonance 104.4FM (www.resonancefm.com) and here it is....watch this space!