Welcome to our new blog segment – TWH Designer Spotlight, where we showcase the work of some of our favourite shoe and high heel designers. First up, we’re diving in with the ever-eclectic 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Phillip Lim is an American fashion designer from Chinese descent. Born in Thailand, Lim immigrated to America with his parents as a child during the Cambodian Genocide and grew up in California. He started his studies in finance and business but soon realised this was not the career path for him… Growing up beside his mother who was a seamstress, clearly influenced the young Lim and his ease with fabrics and a good design eye saw him launch his first ready to wear womens range in 2004 with his business partner, friend and fabric designer Wen Zhou. His designs are renowned for their classic style with an edge. He is a favourite with actresses such as Scarlett Johansson, Kate Hudson and Natalie Portman.
For us, it is his footwear range that has caught our eye. Established in 2009 his shoe designs are on-trend, edgy and anatomically smart. Here are a few of a favourites –
The Spring 2015 range showcased this sole design. This shoe thoughtfully supports the lateral and medial column of the the foot and the heel is semi-enclosed which would aid stability considerably! The upper is made of soft roping and a supple diamond shaped leather motif placed on the midfoot. This shoe ticks a lot of boxes from our end. Not to mention it looked fantastic in black….
See!
This is also from the 2015 range. Look at that medial and lateral support and enclosed heel! Although this is a mule, it would actually be quite stable. On closer inspection the forefoot appears to have an additional platform. If this is rubber it would help to improve overall cushioning on the metatarsal heads. Go Phil!
Another winner from the 2015 range and we love them! The finer forefoot straps are adjustable over bony prominences, and there’s that lateral flange again for stability! The soft wider fabric draped over the medial aspect of the foot would be very comfortable and offer additional support. We love the colour combination too. TWH tick!
Moving on to 2016 – We love the block heel and that soft leather tied around the ankle. The leather across the forefoot may be a little stiff over the little toe but the design difference of stiff to soft leathers and colour contrast gives this shoe edge. Nothing a good shoe stretch can’t fix?
2017 saw this design from Lim. We are not massive fans of the flatform but this has been very popular in shoe circles. It’s a little like an open clog with studding isn’t it? The straps are wide though and again we don’t think stability is going to be a problem here. When buying shoes with studding, always run your hand on the underside of the fabric or leather to ascertain if the studding has exposed plugs which will irritate the foot and in some cases can cause corns, callus or more serious foot conditions. Undecided…
What about this Mary Poppins inspired shoe from the 2017 range? They look comfortable… we like the orange carpet?
And finally 2018 – Lim’s contribution to the sock shoe craze. We are not sure about this one either. The sole looks tres chunky beside the finer sock aesthetic running up the leg. Maybe the stripes are meant to give it a sporty edge? The toe detailing would be uncomfortable. The big toe (hallux) needs to bend during gait and by the looks of it the front edge of this silver saucer is going to jam into the toenail. Ouch!
We are not so sure about Phillip’s later designs but he seemed to be on fire 2015/2016. All in all we applaud Lim’s attention to detail and thoughtful design aesthetic. We would love to get our hands on any of these earlier shoes to place in our growing shoe library!
Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
Until next time,
E&E
Image credits: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Pinterest. Contact hello@the-well-heeled.com to have your image credited.
