WWTF?*

* what’s with this footwear?

Is it an ankle boot? Is it a platform sandal? Do you pair it with tights? Do you wear it with a kimono?

Chie Mihara
Architectural cutout leather sandal on a 2″ wood platform and 4″ heel. Black.
$435 at Saks

* Thanks ShuzMuse for sending in.

Gigi Favela

GigiFavela.com

description:
Monica Favela George, former editor/writer of the corporate world, always loved shoes. She designer created ceramic sculpture since college but found clay insufficient for creating her shoe candy visions. After learning retail and the fine art of shoe-crafting, Favela George combed the industrial towns of Europe until she found the right high-quality shoe manufacturer in Italy to realize her designs.

A woman designing for women, Favela George takes the wearability factor seriously; her shoes feature extra padding in the ball of the foot and walkable, sexy heel heights. In 2006 she debuted her first collection of shoes. Her daughter, 5-year-old Gigi, is her biggest fan.

Read up on her SPRING 2009 collection here!

shoes we specialize in:
Contemporary / Fashion Dress Evening Luxury / Designer

“fab friday” winner – “Claudette” from Oklahoma

Patent leather leopard-print bootie with side zip and 90mm gold metallic heel. Natural.
Retail: $695
At AngeleighAnastasio.com.

Shoe Talk with Claudette, Oklahoma, USA

Why do you love shoes?
Shoes show the “real” personality of a woman.

If you could design the perfect pair of shoes, what would they be?
Strappy high heels.

Who is your favorite shoe designer?
Whoever has be sexiest shoe at the time.

What is your most favorite shoe style of all time?
Strappy sandals.

Botkier

Botkier.com

description:
A native to New York City, Monica Botkier delved into the fashion industry in 2003. Working as a fashion photographer shooting for magazines such as Surface and Mademoiselle. Using her developed photographers eye for detail, artistry and key functionality, Monica took on a new niche in the fashion industry. Inspired by her busy, downtown NYC lifestyle, Monica designed and produced her first handbag collection—fusing luxury and functionality—that resulted in immediate cult status.

A favorite among celebrity fashion icons, Botkier handbags have been spotted in tow of many of the most recognized women in the world such as Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Blake Lively, Heidi Klum, Joy Bryant and Kate Bosworth.

In celebration of Botkier’s five-year anniversary, Monica launched an extensive collection of footwear. Steadfast in her vision and brand promise, the designer infuses the same luxuriously chic style into the custom assortment of Botkier shoes. Botkier has developed into a luxurious lifestyle-brand offering classic handbags in proprietary shapes, totes, clutches, wallets, cuffs and shoes and boots.

Read Monica Botkier’s exclusive “fab friday” interview.

shoes we specialize in:
Contemporary / Fashion Customized Dress Evening Luxury / Designer

Beverly Feldman

BeverlyFeldman.com

designer:
Beverly Feldman, whose eponymous company produces more footwear than any other female owned footwear company, has been creating glamorous shoes for over 30 years. A pioneer in women’s footwear, Beverly numbers one of a handful of successful female shoe designers in a male dominated industry. Unique among her peers, Beverly is a classically trained shoe designer, graduating New York’s Pratt Institute as a footwear illustrator and designer.

Sold in nearly 50 countries, Beverly’s designs are recognized worldwide for their blend of lavish ornamentation and casual playfulness. Beverly’s unique footwear has captivated Oprah, Tyra Banks, Kim Cattrall, Paula Abdul, Kirstie Alley, Angelina Jolie and the Hilton sisters. While Beverly has dressed the stars, her true passion is to make every woman feel like a star by helping women celebrate life, fun and fantasy through her extraordinary designs.

Take a virtual peek inside Beverly Feldman’s extensive shoe collection, of more than 1,500 shoes at her shoe museum in Alicante, Spain.

Beverly’s also got her own blog… see what she’s been up to, she is busy, busy!

shoes we specialize in:
Casual, Contemporary / Fashion, Dress, Evening, Luxury / Designer

Behnaz Kanani

BehnazKanani.com

description:
Behnaz Kanani presents a refined and carefully molded brand universe of quite yet impactful glamour with a uniquely organic design language completing each detail to utmost perfection. With each collection a touch of sexiness is merged with distinctive lines and precious materials from all parts of the world bringing to life the collection theme.

Featured in Vogue Pelle and Grazia, Behnaz Kanani creations are a media favorite. See shuzsociety’s WSA coverage. And, Read the shuzsociety’s exclusive “fab friday” interview.

shoes we specialize in:
Contemporary / Fashion, Customized, Dress, Luxury / Designer

Designer Spotlight: Elisa Ferare

Who is the designer behind Elisa Ferare?
“I am the one and only.”

Your design philosophy?
“To allow the soul of me to do the designing…to get to that place that feels like I am the observer.” Entering into her eighth year of producing cut-to-order shoes, Elisa Ferare operates a custom-order shoe design house in a little dance-shoe factory near Los Angeles, CA. “It is a very old-world kind of thing,” she told shuzsociety. “I have this marvelous romantic idea of maintaining manufacturing in the US.”
Describe your design style:
“Juxtaposed…never too serious…when movie stars were really movie stars…the heart of a dancer…for women who make their own rules…”

Why shoes?
“Each time I bought myself a new pair of shoes (which was frequently), I brought them to the local shoe repair guy and made lots of changes so they became more of what I wanted them to be. I was continually stopped by women who asked me where I got my shoes,” Ferare confides. “One day one of my children (who had witnessed my being stopped time and again) said, ‘I don’t understand why you’re not making shoes’… before that very moment the thought had never entered my mind.
Shoemaking found me.”

Cabaret “fab friday” shoe:
Hand-painted snakeskin oxford with ½” platform with 4 ½” heel. This shoe, as will all Elisa Ferare shoes, take 2-3 weeks to produce. Her shoes are hand-made, after all, by true craftsmen. Lisa Rinna, self-proclaimed shoe lover, recently called and ordered the “Cabaret.”

Tell us about Homage to Joseph (as we drool at our screens!):
“It has had made many fans…and has been carried over for the 3rd fall as we continue to get more orders for it. The inspiration came from a shoe my mom had that had lots of colored stones on it. The brand on the insole was “Joseph.” It retails for $1,200. It is the costliest shoe in my entire collection. All of the stones are bezel set (not prong set) and it is done on hand-painted snake……..” We like!

Sneak peek of spring 2009:
There was a personal transformation going on at the time, and designing this collection was a lifesaver. There are aspects of it that reflect that to me now. The name of this collection is in fact “Transformation.”

Passion for Peace:
“My lifelong cause has been for PEACE. And now as a shoe designer it spills over into my designs,” says Ferare. “I have been making shoes with peace symbols for 5 yrs. Every season I create another, as a reminder for all who wear and see them. Hopefully in some way it will help to raise the consciousness of the planet…and that someday…in the not too distant future…we will create a new reality.”

So, what is YOUR personal favorite pair of shoes?
“You’re kidding, right?”

Where are your shoes carried?
Her shoes can be ordered directly from ElisaFerare’s website, or Fred Segal – Santa Monica, CA. and Redbird – Berkely, Ca. Shirise – Glencoe, IL. Capitol – Charlotte, N.C. Sharis Place – Kings Point, NY.