Chau Har Lee and her tech-sculpture shoes!

Ok fashilosophers! We like fashion, it's our great passion, for some people is even a life mission, and all of us (as very good fashion-addicted) we have a real obsession for those elements that complete our look, give us a touch of style and can be trasform us into the hound dog when it comes to go in search of the coolest vintage piece. This obsession are the accessories, especially shoes.

An Italian aphorism (Italy has always been the cradle of the best footwear industry) claims that "the shoes tell the person who wears them" and it is often a great truth. But enough beating around the bush and go to the point: Chau Har Lee.

A promising young chinese footwear designer, born and brought up in cosmopolitan London, where she graduated at Cordwainers College of Fashion. She's the genius mind of a small collection of shoes, winning recognition in 2009 of RCA's Manolo Blahnik Project, which has enabled her to continue producing her own label. The development of her creations don't follow a fixed concept, but it changes time by time in accordance with suggestions and the message that Chau wants to communicate. The only frequent thing is strongly felt attention to technology and plastic elements, which are the basic material of her shoes.

"My designs span conceptual showpieces to elegant and original but accessible footwear. I often employ a crossover of making and manufacturing processes from fields other than shoemaking in order to realise my concepts. This gives me massive scope for creativity in the design stage by removing boundaries associated with traditional methods. However, my knowledge of traditional shoemaking lets me know how and where I can break these boundaries. Importantly, although my most conceptual designs are showpieces, they are still built to adorn the foot.
To summarise, the more inventive pieces are desirable as bold fashion statements and the more accessible shoes are unique, timeless and beautiful."

This is the philosophy of her brand, then let go of those horrible Masai Barefoot Technology, the "diet shoes" launched in the U.S. market, and enjoy the pictures of Chau's work!

A man can not make a good pair of shoes unless it does so devoutly. (Thomas Carlyle)

Click images to enlarge

Ok fashilosophers! La moda ci piace, è la nostra grande passione, per alcuni addirittura una missione di vita, e tutti noi (da buoni fashion-addicted) abbiamo una vera e propria ossessione per quegli elementi che completano il nostro look, che ci danno un tocco di stile e che possono trasformarci in dei cani da segugio quando si tratta di andare alla ricerca del pezzo vintage più cool. Questa ossessione sono gli accessori, in particolar modo le scarpe. Un detto italiano (e l'Italia è da sempre la culla della migliore industria calzaturiera) sostiene che "le scarpe raccontano la persona che le indossa" e in molti casi questa è una grande verità. Ma basta tergiversare e andiamo al sodo: Chau Har Lee.
Una promettente quanto pazza giovane footwear designer cinese, nata e cresciuta nella cosmopolita Londra dove si è diplomata al Cordwainers College of Fashion. Lei è la mente geniale di una sua piccola collezione di scarpe,vincitrice nel 2009 del riconoscimento RCA's Manolo Blahnik Project, che le ha permesso di portare avanti la produzione di una sua indipendent label.
Lo sviluppo delle sue creazioni non segue un concept fisso, ma cambia di volta in volta secondo le suggestioni e il messaggio che Chau intende comunicare. L'unico motivo ricorrente è l'attenzione fortemente sentita per la tecnologia e le materie plastiche, che sono la materia base delle sue scarpe.

"My designs span conceptual showpieces to elegant and original but accessible footwear. I often employ a crossover of making and manufacturing processes from fields other than shoemaking in order to realise my concepts. This gives me massive scope for creativity in the design stage by removing boundaries associated with traditional methods. However, my knowledge of traditional shoemaking lets me know how and where I can break these boundaries. Importantly, although my most conceptual designs are showpieces, they are still built to adorn the foot.
To summarise, the more inventive pieces are desirable as bold fashion statements and the more accessible shoes are unique, timeless and beautiful."

Questa è la filosofia del suo brand, dunque lasciate perdere quelle orrende Masai Barefoot Technology, le "scarpe dimagranti" lanciate dal mercato americano, e godetevi le immagini!

A man can not make a good pair of shoes unless it does so devoutly. (Thomas Carlyle)