NEW STORE ALERTS:

Lanvin And Rag & Bone Set For Stealthy Openings

GETTING OUR HOPES UP

Is Christian Audigier Finished
In SoHo?

TRADE SHOW REPORT:

The Shophound At CAPSULE
Part II

Trade shows like CAPSULE can be overwhelming, what with the crowded booths and rack after rack of clothes —kind of like visiting a showroom on steroids. What stood out to The Shophound was the abundance of shoes (which we can never really complain about) and what almost seemed like a preponderance of so-called "heritage" brands either undergoing a revival or hoping for one. This has been going on for a couple of years now, and the emphasis has recently shifted from Red Wing type work boots to the handsewn moccasin in all its permutations, preferably made in the U.S.A. Sure there were still plenty of sneakers from The Generic Man, Creative Recreation and even Keds and Nike, but they have lost sense of novelty for the moment.  From penny loafers to lace-up boots, handsewns were all over the place, and if you don't have at least a pair of deck shoes by now, you are hopelessly out of (dare we say it?) step.

Here are a few more highlights, and have another look at a full slideshow HERE:

CapsuleMARKMcNAIRYss11 Mark McNairy's influence continues to grow as he is about to take charge of Woolrich's premium Woolen Mills label, and his own English-made footwear label Mark McNairy New Amsterdam took a sizable corner space on the top floor. There will be more of his signature red rubber soled blucher and brogue oxfords as well as collaborations with PRO-Keds and Bass Weejuns, which appears to have encouraged the famous Maine based company to start making its loafers in America again.

CapsuleYUKETENss11 Yuketen's hand cut and hand sewn footwear shows the kind of attention to quirky American artisanry that could only come from a Japanese designer. Its huge display was full of colorful twists on moccasin style chukkas and bluchers, but what caught our eye was a classic penny loafer in hand-tooled caramel color leather.

CapsuleEASTLANDss11 Eastland Shoe's Made In Maine collection offered more familiar classics, but proved that bells and whistles aren't necessarily called for when you're working with the kinds of subtly colored Horween leathers they used.

CapsuleGRENSONBROGUEss11 Grenson's big corner booth was buzzing with buyers which is no surprise after the English brand's recent resurgence. They showed Spring shoes as well as fall goods available for immediate delivery, and among their classic line were a series of extra-chunky soled brogues that the rep assured us were all the rage in London at this very minute. This was comforting after seeing an unfortunate comeback of thin-soled jazz-oxford-ish looking shoes for men. For Spring, the label offers its classics in faded neutrals and pastel colors.

CapsuleBILLYREIDss11 Billy Reid's booth was also busy, and he offered more of his now famous country-weathered boots and brogues in two-toned styles. He managed to cross the divide between the heavy work boot and more refined footwear.

CapsuleREDWINGBOOTSss11 Of course, we couldn't leave out Red Wing Shoes, who with a little help from J.Crew, started the whole heritage-brand-work-boot-craze. For spring, their rugged styles will appear in softer suedes and unexpected colors, but we really saw the future when the rep pulled out a pair of shiny black oxfords from a lower shelf. An authentic reissue of USPS mail carrier shoes from the mid 1960s in glossy leather with a low rubber wedge sole. They are apparently selling like hotcakes in Japan as we speak, so expect to see them everywhere this time next year. Revenge of the nerds indeed!

And there is still more to talk about, but we'll let everyone get on with things at this point. Now we are looking forward to Capsule's women's show in September, assuming we are recovered from Fashion Week by then.

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