Shoeaholic: Missoni - Converse collab, Margiela mesh boots

From time to time, instead of 'serious' topics like the unrest in Syria, child labor or the wildfire spread of HIV and tuberculosis, my mind lingers on shoes. Yes, those seemingly unimportant things your wear on your feet. Call me whatever you wish, but that's how my thought works. And recently I have been thinking about these shoes that might not matter much compared to the issues I mentioned above, but might just make somebody like me a wee bit happier owning them.

You know how high/low collaboration makes me feel. I say yes to fashion democracy. Make people dream of the beautiful things they can't afford, but please rightfully make a mass-produced collection that even someone like me can purchase on a whim. Please give an applause to Missoni's latest collaboration with Converse. God I can't even afford their diffusion line M Missoni. Well, the ones sold in Starhill Gallery at least *cough* mark up*cough*. So this zigzag-laden Chuck Taylor sneakers might be just the answer. I don't know about you, but with a price point of USD200 a pop I might think twice, because to me it's still quite pricey for a pair of canvas sneakers. Anyhow, my favorite is the blue version. They're available on Converse website now.

 

images via fashionologie

The second shoes do not typically fit my kind of footwear, because I'm not quite sure if I can work these Margiela mesh booties complete with perspex heels. But looking at the shoes in person during my paparazzi-style coverage at Runway in Saigon made me fall in love with them instantly. Just for the sake of their beauty, that is. Not to mention how they can be an excellent instant height-increasing device!

 

images via net-a-porter

Runway at Vincom Centre

You probably have guessed from my previous post that I was in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. True, I had a short family trip few days ago (after the Cameron Highland trip you must have noticed how I still join family trips where siblings bicker against parents over petty things which is a norm during this kind of travelling).

Apart from the touristy spots I managed to visit Vincom Center, a luxury mall in the heart of Saigon. It is quite apparent that the Vietnamese purchasing power is burgeoning ever more so after the country's policy starts to become more open to foreign investments. And this consequently leads to an economic boom which is evident in the mushrooming of luxury labels nesting amongst the high street shops in Vincom Centre.

Passing by the Runway boutique intrigued me, so much so that I decided to enter the premise. Apparently it is a multilabel store that stocks luxury labels that I deem are highly in demand - I saw Jil Sander bags, a Stella McCartney top-to-toe runway look and Lanvin bags perched on the racks of its window display. I entered the premise and politely introduced myself and explained about Dunia Fashyon, and also my intent to take photography inside the boutique. Unfortunately my request was denied by the fact that I had to contact the marketing team beforehand.


Therefore, for Dunia Fashyon, I decided to sneakily take pictures of the boutique. Forgive me if your eyes are pained by the skewed images. They WERE indeed taken in paparazzi style...

A brief research reveals that Runway Saigon is a part of the Runway company (with another smaller Runway branch in Hanoi and RRR which focuses on diffusion lines that Runway would carry). The concept store is led by the young entrepreneur Tranh Thi Hoai Anh, with interior design by Milanese CLS architects. Besides the clothing items they have in-store I'm quite fond of the boutique's ice cove
interior.

This concept store also stocks ceramics from Fornasetti and Gaetano Pesce sofas.

It is quite unfortunate when I learned that their menswear collection is somehow rather limited with classic shirts by the likes of Brioni, and also few Sergio Rossi and Margiela shoes, and rows and rows of mundane T-shirts from various high-end labels. I also found army green and beige Celine bi-cabas totes lying around the mens' section. However there's this Italian brand called Kiton that I'm eager to find out about more in the future. Price-wise I could generally conclude that it is still more expensive compared to the usual European stores (e.g a pair of Margiela leather Oxfords still cost about 300 British pounds even after a half-price discount)...