Source: SCMP, 13 August 2008
Blue Carreon

By the time Fendi's B Bag hit the stores, the market was so saturated with handbags that replicating the global success of the Baguette, or even the Spy, seemed less than promising. The B Bag competed against the YSL Muse and Downtown, Prada's Gauffre and many others.

There were so many handbags vying to be the "it-est" of the bunch that it's fair to say the "it" bag is to blame for its own demise.

"There is a lust factor when one sees an item in a magazine, but then it's not so great when you're actually using it at a party and four other women are using it too," says bag and jewellery designer Bea Valdes, whose intricately beaded bags are limited to one or two per style. "The problem with 'it' bags is that they are so defining of a moment."

David Wolfe, the creative director of Doneger Group, a trend forecasting agency based in New York, attributes "it" bag fatigue to consumer boredom. "There is simply no more excitement to be squeezed out of handbag designs and women own so much more than what they need."

Since fashion abhors boredom and by nature always seeks change, the fashion pendulum is swinging its way to other accessories, and more specifically shoes.

It started last season with Marc Jacobs' "surreal-heeled" pump, which featured a heel jutting horizontally from the ball of the foot.   As the collections moved to Milan and Paris, shoes became bigger news: Prada's inverted tulip heel, Sergio Rossi's gold ball heels resembling Mickey Mouse's ears, the ostrich feather-festooned sandals from Roger Vivier and the statement-making gladiators from Balenciaga, all stole the attention away from the handbags and almost eclipsed the ready-to-wear collections.

The interest in footwear continues this season with designs that are comparable to daring architectural feats. For autumn, witness Balenciaga's booties that seem to have been carved from a glacier, or Prada's peep toes that look like they were appliquéd with paper cranes on both ends. Chloe has pump that is a collage of exotic skin and floral motifs. Giuseppe Zanotti applied mirrors and rhinestones to the heels. Miu Miu's sandals look like the Chrysler building. Alexander McQueen's are wrapped in delicate lace, a stunning contrast to Pierre Hardy's, which are spiky and psychedelic, calling to mind the characters from the animated series Jem and the Holograms.

"Shoes have grown to become one of our largest categories in recent seasons," says Holli Rogers, head of buying and merchandising of luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter.com.

"Autumn 2008 has brought about a focus on footwear with the emergence of boots in all shapes and styles, as well as intricate heel designs and heavy embellishment detail from the likes of Azzaro, Christian Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti, which are taking center stage," she says.

At local boutique On Pedder, buyers say that shoe sales are up from last year. "Shoes are indeed having a moment," says Judd Crane, merchandise director of On Pedder. "The level of creativity found in the footwear collections is amazing. For [autumn/winter 08] we changed a lot of our buying plans after seeing so many amazing shoe collections. Some of them could be collected as pieces of artwork."   Indeed the fact that so much attention to detail is required to make a pair of shoes is precisely what makes them the new collectible. Besides, what woman doesn't love the feeling of slipping into a pair of killer heels? It does much more for one's ego than just slinging a bag on your shoulder.

"I find that bags are getting boring with brands updating the same styles over and over again," says Jenny Wong, a shoe aficionado and frequent shopper. "I love heels-they make me feel sexier and there is so much variety to choose from. You can tell a lot more about someone's personality by what shoes they are wearing, as opposed to what handbag they carry."

Will the trend last or will the "it" shoe die a fashion death just like the handbag? "You live with shoes, you wear a pair of shoes, you walk in shoes. A bag you carry then put down, whereas shoes, you wear them all day," says Bruno Frisoni, who designs shoes under his own name and for Roger Vivier.

"But are shoes the new 'it' accessory? I don't believe in the possibility of shoes being the next 'it'. We love change and multiplicity too much."

Whatever the case, until the fashion pendulum swings again, shoes are the accessory du jour.

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