Sarah Jessica Parker releases her debut shoe collection with handbags and a trench named “Manhattan” to match!
Sarah Jessica Parker has released her debut shoe collection in New York today in partnership with Nordstrom. I have been so excited for the launch of this collection because, not only do I love the shoes, I love the story and campaign behind them as well.
In interviews, SJP has spoken about the single sole and lower heel that runs through out the collection, in some styles these aspects make them seem slightly outdated to me. But then I thought, maybe it’s time for the platform heel to take it’s final bow and/or strut for a little while, and let the feet of women everywhere come an inch or a half closer to the ground. I certainly find the design more elegant and sophisticated and the shape is slightly reminiscent to me of the strappy Zara heel, that now seem to have duplicates in every other high street store today.
There is no doubt that Sarah Jessica took inspiration from the past, of her own and of fashion’s past itself. Parker and her design partner George Malkemus (President of Manolo Blahnik, might I add) were both said to have drawn inspiration from the shoes worn by the women of New York, particularly Manhattan in the late 1970's and early 80's. this inspiration is evident in the height, form, pointed toe and metallic finishes of many of the styles.
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| Taking something that is often looked over and making it hers — Carrie in purple with grosgrain ribbon detailing. |
And the “signature” grosgrain ribbon detailing running down the back seam of the shoe comes from memories of her childhood. Stories of her mother having very little money to support her eight children, but always managing to make them look presentable by having her little girls hair tied back in grosgrain ribbon everyday, have filtered through various interviews and columns about SJP and this collection. And then there’s the great knowledge she has of shoes already from her days spent as Carrie Bradshaw. One style being named after the character herself and another, Diana, being oh-so similar to a pair of ‘Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes’ featured in the Sex And The City episode where Carrie gets let loose in the wardrobe department of Vogue.
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| L-R (Carrie, Slim and Lady) |
And to go with the beautiful shoes there is an admirable attitude and love towards them from Sarah Jessica Parker, her passion, appreciation and understanding of fashion and personal needs and individual styles and tastes and her ability to embrace all that into one collection. It makes the collection all the more attractive and interesting to me.
“This inspiration … was the idea of the single sole, and really loving colour and treating colour as a neutral, which isn't super typical. That’s what I loved about playing Carrie Bradshaw, was that rules didn't seem to apply to her. I just love wearing what I like to wear, rather than what I feel is expected of me. And so I wanted to create a shoe that spoke to those kinds of ideas.”
— SJP on inspiration for the collection.
The only downfall the SJP Collection has for me is accessibility and price. There are no plans yet for the collection to have a UK release and all though Nordstrom ship to the UK, I wouldn't like to chance it, especially when the shoes (Made In Italy) range anywhere between $155 and $425 in price. I respect that I was probably not in the targeted demographic of women SJP and Nordstrom had in mind when wanting to design and sell these shoes, but it doesn't mean I don’t like them any less. Hence why they are joining my very long (mental) list of “Shoes to own before I die”.
(Originally posted 28/2/2014)
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