Spring Purchases Volume 2

My other purchase, as I already told you, was a pair of shoes. Once again, I bought a Tsakiris-Mallas pair, after a spontaneous walk at exē stores. Between hundreds of designs I immediately picked this pair as it was more special than the others.

Images shot by me

Of course it wasn’t the first time I saw this design. The cutout black sheer mesh panels at the toes and the sides brought in my mind the Brian Atwood Dante leather platform pumps, from his Resort Collection 2011, as seen here.

Left image, shot by me, right image taken from net-a-porter

As for the cork part, probably inspired too, by the Brian Atwood’s Milena Platform Slingback Pump, again from his Resort 2011 collection, or his new Maniac cork platform pumps from his Spring-Summer 2011 Collection (you can see the whole SS11 collection here). In my opinion, my shoes are a combination between those two pairs (Dante and Maniac). And if anyone is interested in this one, the heel measures approximately 14cm with a 3cm hidden platform.

Middle image shot by me, left image taken from net-a-porter, right image taken from tooklookbook.com

It seems that Mr. Brian Atwood was an inspiration for many brands out there in the last two years. Does this mean that they’re imitating his designs? They say that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, but when does imitation become too much? With fashion changing so quickly, it’s hard to keep up with all the companies who copy the work of the fashion designers. After all, high street stores (like Zara and the entire Inditex group, H&M etc.) are the firsts to do it, and with a great success. And in the end, how bad is it to be inspired by the designers to create shoes, bags, clothes etc. as long as you put your own brand on them and not a fake designer’s one (which is illegal)? Why can’t everyday people be able to afford similar, and much less expensive designs, when the name of the designer (brand) is in fact what people are paying for (when buying a pricey item), anyway?

Back to the topic, I bought my pair for 149€, which is not very cheap, considering what have been said above, but much less expensive compared to “Brian Atwood” shoes. As for a pair of Atwoods, the prices vary, but in general if you’re living in Europe, the prices are: 450-550€ for the “Maniac” pumps and 660€ for the “Dante” ones. If you live in the US, the prices are much lower (how much, is another topic, of a future-post).