Friday 5 December 2014

ART & SOLE - A Review by Dressing Down Under

ART & SOLE
Jane Gershon Weitzman
05.12.2014
 
 
 
A review by Dressing Down Under:
Like most women when I think of Stuart Weitzman I think shoes, detailed, jewelled, special statements that make every woman wearing them feel like a real woman and every female who saw them being worn hate the owner out of pure jealousy. Being a shoe obsessor myself I could not pass down the opportunity to gawk at the wonderful creations displayed by collaborating artists and imagine them on my feet. “Stuart Weitzman understands that a great shoe is about more than form or function; it is about making a woman feel beautiful.” (GRI, 2014, http://www.griretail.com/brands/stuart-weitzman/ )
When the book arrived I was delighted, they don’t make books like this anymore, and when I say ‘book’ I mean a proper book, a hardback novel with vibrant colours, and gold edged thick pages. It is the kind of volume you dreamt about having in your extravagant imaginary library when you grew up.  Everyone wanted a library right? There was something about having a room dedicated to dusty, oversized novels that just screamed excessive success.  With vibrant red, gold and embellished shoes Art & Sole is every girls dream to read with a cup of tea snuggled up on the sofa.
Art & Sole written by Jane Gershon Weitzman, Stuart Weitzman’s wife, contains a selection of stunning and unique shoes that in her mind “represent the best of more than a thousand that have appeared in Stuart Weitzman stores over the years.” (Jane Gershon Weitzman, 2014). Opening with a short and punctual introduction you are given a personal insight into the world of Weitzman, the inside story to the creation of one of the most iconic shoe designers in the world.
Containing 150 fantasy shoes excellently photographed by Lucas Zarebinski, Art & Sole beautifully captures the best of collaborating artists who were commissioned for Stuart Weitzman’s Madison Avenue retail store, and displays in spectacular detail the wonder of each unique piece. Every page and every single photograph beautifully exhibits the individual shoes as unique works of art. With over 30 diverse artists, the range of materials used is vast and highly unusual within the footwear industry.  Made from silk, acrylic film, ceramic, frosting, Swarovski crystals, corrugated cardboard, steel, resin and even paper, you start to believe that there is nothing that cannot be used to make a killer pair of heels and probably nothing left, that hasn’t been used in a pair Stuart Weitzman shoes.
My favourite shoes from the collection are Tiny Trellis (pg. 39) by Anthony Rosiello, Bedazzled (pg. 151-151) by Kathy Wegman and Jewels at Work (pg. 186-187 image below) by Sharon Von Senden.

Jewels at Work, Sharon Von Senden
 
Art & Sole is a beautiful book and I would recommend it be the perfect gift for any self-confessed shoe fanatic, fashionista and art enthusiasts.  Buy this for your shopping buddy, your mother, your sister or even men buy this and slip it into your girlfriends stocking this Christmas. It is a guaranteed hit and something that will keep us women quiet, well maybe only for 5 minutes but that is why they invented chocolate no?


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