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Punk style on your foot

Dame Vivienne Westwood launches her shoe collection in Brasil

When top-model Naomi Campbell fell over on the catwalk in 1993, during a Vivienne Westwood show, she immortalized the shoes she was wearing. The “Super Elevated Gilli”, as the name suggests, really was super elevated: a 23cm heel with a 10 cm platform.

Westwood, the subversive doyenne of punk, started designing her incredible shoes in 1970 when she and Malcolm McClaren, her then-husband, set up the legendary shop Sex, on the Kings Road. Together, they launched punk fashion, dressing the Sex Pistols. Westwood’s shoes are a favoured fetish of fashion-junkies. And now, they’ve just become a little more accessible, as well. Together with Melissinha, makers of Brasilian sandals, Westwood has given another classic piece of footwear her special touch. The “Mary Jane Animal Toe” was so successful when it was launched in the UK that it quickly sold out, leaving consumers wanting for more. The new “Mary Jane + Melissa” is made out
of plastic and has the same little “toe holes” on the front.

As well as this pair, Westwood has also designed the Melissa Ultragirl, which comes in two versions: one covered in velvet with a typically British check print lining, and another totally made out of plastic with a fl ower power lining. They were officially launched on the 17th during São Paulo Fashion Week, when Westwood visited Brasil. After the Brasilian stock has gone out, Vivianne’s creations will also be available in the UK, France, Italy, the US, Japana, China, Korea, Taiwan and Russia. The Mary Jane + Melissa costs R$149 in Brasil. How much will people being fl ogging it for over here? JD