For a very long time the footwear is considered to be the symbol of welfare. Aristocrats of the 19th century carried soft brocade shoes while their servants used rough wooden boots. The sandals of the Roman empresses with gold soles, shoes with red heels which were carried at the court of Louis XIV, and modern shoes from Gucci– all of this is a visiting card of different centuries showing welfare and social status of their owners.

From everlasting people connected a large quantity of superstitious beliefs with the footwear. In many countries, the ancient traditions and customs connected with footwear are followed till now.

For example, in China children’s footwear was often decorated with images of predatory, furious animals. It was considered that the animal should protect the child from evil spirits.

According to another Chinese tradition, it was necessary to throw bride’s red shoes on the roof of the house in the first wedding night as a symbol of love and harmony.

Under American ancient tradition, in the soles of children’s footwear parents made holes so that evil spirits could go away through them.

In the Indian tribe of Zuni, a pair of wedding shoes for a bride had to make a groom.

When the king died, the people of Ashanti (Western Africa) painted their sandals in black.

Japanese Samurais carried footwear made of bear fur and believed piously that the force of the animal can be transferred to the owner of the shoes.

The footwear has a great importance in the history. It helps to learn the traditions of our predecessor and their lifestyle. It is like a book that can tell us a lot of interesting, unbelievable and fascinating facts.

The recent Haute Couture Fashion Week saw the presentation of a very romantic collection by Valentino. The collection was especially varied and diverse in the number of shoe models.

It is in fact very typical of Haute Couture collection to be focused primarily on clothing, with the shoes mostly remaining unnoticed. It is usually once 2-3 models that are presented. However, the recently held Fashion Weeks seem to be breaking that unspoken rule.

The last Valentino Haute Couture 2009 collection includes several shoe models, highly different from each other.

It looks like designers Valentino Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri have chosen bows as the decoration element of the season. They even decorated the classical stiletto heel with a huge bow that reminds a little bit of a flower in its shape. Well frankly speaking, I think this fan is only manageable for a very experienced fashion follower. It is also likely, that we will see one of the celebrities walking the red carpet in these shoes soon.

These suede shoes with a closed upper part are a combination of ankle boots and sandals. Had it not been for a huge black bow in the back, this model could even be worn in real life.

Another style represented in the collection is shoes with feathers. The look created with this decorative element is rather feminine and passionate. In fact, it is so for both heels and flats.

Valentino also introduces cute little flats, decorated with sparkly elements and absolutely unexpected long feathers. These flats can be painlessly and absolutely efficiently worn in our everyday life. Unlike the other shoes in the collection they are pretty convenient for walking.

These sandals with fluffy feathers are a little bit reminiscent of Amazon accessory or of an urban plunderer. But just like the other elements in the collection, they are very interesting in terms of design.

Alexander McQueen has never in his life suffered from lack of self-assuredness or fear of the new. The designer is rightly considered one of the best in his field and is a true trend setter for the fashion girls and boys of today. In this sense the new collection of footwear for women by McQueen is truly demonstrative and revealing. It is penetrated with absolute luxury, unusual shapes and slightly pompous materials (like feathers for instance).

This shoe collection can without exaggeration be another theatrical performance by the extravagant and adventurous artist. Although some of those shoes were clearly not created for walking, they surely all are a great work of true art. And wearing such an evening shoe to a regular party is not something that everyone of us would do, but I am pretty sure that the footwear does have its audience.  And that audience is most likely represented by a very bold creative female individual capable of loving the design and making it her everyday wear.  After all, the effect this shoes have at the podium is simply incredible!

I should stress, that although unified and single in the overall topic the collection is pretty varied in its composition. It has something for each occasion and weather.

The most practical shoe in the collection seems to be an ankle boot with black and white geometrical prints. They are sophisticated in their simplicity, and stylish in their color choice.

There is also a rather exclusive evening shoe with a spike heel in the form of a sand-glass. This shoe is ideal for a business meeting, and is exquisite and feminine enough for a date.

This collection is another example of designer’s search for a true style. Alexander McQueen’s footwear is a means of self-expression for everyone looking for outstanding!

The new Giuseppe Zanotti spring-summer collection features the sandals in boho-luxe style with the function of protection. Giuseppe Zanotti’s Indian Sandal are not only beautiful hand-made sandals, they are encrusted with gemstones, that possess unique qualities.

This time Giuseppe Zanotti searched for inspiration in India. The new Indian Sandal are encrusted with malachites, or mountain green, that, according to the Indian beliefs, preserves health of the owner, shelters him or her from troubles and makes dreams come true.

The satin T-shaped belt of Giuseppe Zanotti Indian Sandal is decorated with big and middle-sized malachites of different shape, as well as little glittering crystals in brass fringe. The malachite decoration resembles a hand-made female necklace.

To make the decoration look integral, the zipper of Indian Sandal is hidden on the back side of the sandals. Indian Sandal are featured in brown, that passes elegantly to the green tint of the gems. Giuseppe Zanotti’s Indian Sandal have a very high wooden heel, due to which the nodel looks even more elegant.

It was widely gossiped about, that Mrs Beckham was noticed in extremely expensive shoes from Louis Vuitton new collection. We are sure, that many of our visitors would be really glad to buy a pair of such shoes,but…the price of $2200 is something not every woman is able to achieve. However, if there is demand 0 there must be supply! TOPSHOP offers its Primal for $140 – do they not resemble something, ladies?

Louis Vuitton - ‘Spicy’ - $2200

TOPSHOP - ‘Primal’ - $140

A famous Wellington producer, a British company named HUNTER, together with Jimmy Choo will issue a new version of these popular rubber boots. The classical model is famous for its quality and comfort. Every year the company issues the boots in dozens of different colours. Jimmy Choo designers advised to change not only colour, but also the facture.

The main texture is crocodile leather imitation, and a golden clasp acts as a final detail. Of course, the price has also changed – simple Wellingtons cost about $ 90-100, but a Jimmy Choo variant will amount to $ 400.

Pierre Yantorny – this name means a lot for many footwear designers. At his time he was called the most expensive footwear designer. Being practically uneducated, he managed to found a real footwear empire. People queued in front of his shop in the desire to buy his absolutely expensive shoes, and this is despite a huge sum of money a client had to pay before the master started to fulfill his order. Sometimes a client had to wait for several years before his shoes were ready.

The most loyal client of Yantorny was a millionaire Rita Leeding, for whom the master had made more than 300 pairs of pumps. Today all this shoes collection is exhibited in Metropolitan museum in New York. However, it had always been Yantorny’s motto: to create not simply a footwear item, but a masterpiece, worth being exhibited in the best art galleries of the world. However, this is why his shoes were so highly-priced.

Silk, leather, lace, velvet and even the feathers of marabou or hummingbird – this list of materials, that the artist used for creating his masterpieces, can be continued. We believe, there will be no woman, that would refuse to have a pair of Pierre Yantorny shoes in her wardrobe.

Continuing the last year collaboration with David Lynch, that had resulted in the creation of a unique footwear collection, Christian Louboutin turned his attention to a france-indian rextile group named Dan-Fransois Lesage for creating a capsule collection of extravagant footwear, that would be exclusively represented in his personal boutique in Jean-Jacques Rousseau street in Paris.

The design of the shoes was inspired by the image of Maria-Antoinetta and represents a mixture of sculpture forms and embroiding. Flowers and shapes in Antoinetta’ style are embroided with glass beads on the textile basis. Of course, it wouldn’t have been Christian Louboutin shoes, if they did not have high heels and platforms. This collection will be only a limited edition.