One of the memorable 2010 Fashion Week shows was the exhibition of shoes by Kathryn Wilson. It was a walk-past of excellently crafted and often humorous designs where the audience focus was unequivocally on the shoes as the stage was set 1.2 metres higher than usual. And being a catwalk, the audience could see the shoes actually performing – not always evident from a static display.
Kathryn Wilson’s show was a milestone for her brand which had been launched seven years prior, and before this, of course, were years of training. Part of her overseas training was done in Nottingham whose heritage of fabric manufacturing combined with access to many of the world’s leading practitioners of design and construction, made study there very sought after.
Such training, which included detailed study of where to source materials, is evident in this design –the Virginia Heel – performed in a ladder of cafe-au-lait, tan and black leather straps. Everything is cleanly worked: the stitching, the precision cutting, the folding under and curling over. Virginia Heel, part of Wilson’s 2010 range, is at MP (formerly Maggie Potter), 100 Willis Street, Wellington.
