coming off a year where they won the cfda womenswear of the year award, launched a line of sunglasses, and received financial backing from the valentino group, jack mccollough and lazaro hernandez of proenza schouler announced yesterday that they were pairing up with giuseppe zanotti to produce a line of shoes.
a cone heeled sandal from the collection
in the past, proenza shoes were produced only for the runway, or available in a very select list of stores. now with this new partnership, the collection will be more varied and available in major department stores and specialty boutiques all over the world. the styles will include flats, sandals, sneakers and heels, will retail from $300 to close to $3,000, and is expected to hit stores with the resort collections.
my dream shoe on the runway
i own 2 pairs of proenza shoes, the last pair being close to impossible to find. after the spring/summer show, i saw a pair of linen/leather ankle wrap peep toe pumps i had to have. a few weeks after the show, i called barneys to inquire about them, but the buyer wasn’t sure what styles were actually being produced. cut to a few months later, and my friend leyla informed me that my beloved style was not being made for retail. just in case, i sent an email to the address on the ps website and heard the same thing, but that a similar style (without the strap) was being made. ok fine. the problem? it was only available in four stores worldwide. sight unseen, i ordered the shoe from kirna zabete in new york, only to get it and not love it. the heel was a burgundy/purple patent, and the canvas looked (*gasp*) cheap.
a few months ago, i went to barneys here and they had a different version, brownish-black canvas and leather with a gold studded heel. i was torn because i have black peep toe heels, and i thought the cream version would stand out more. i went back many times to gaze at the gold heeled wonders…but didn’t buy. finally, i go on sunday with a few friends, and there they were, among the racks of sale shoes. i tried them on, they fit perfectly…sold. now i’m wondering why i waited so long to get them.
shoe still from wwd; collection pic from style.com
