Good morning 3am London ~ it’s been quite the evening with Nike Football/Soccer, running around and ending up on buses with ~400 international press folks ~ ending up at Battersea Power Station in the rain with its huge purple projections, only to delve deeper into what some felt was like a bat cave or villainous lair of lights and steps and shiny new products to tempt us with. But the main attraction announced tonight (with the help of Cristiano Ronaldo) ~ was what all this purple was about! And my favorite part of course is not only the new shoe, the Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II… but the magical glowingly purple glass/cement box that looked like an apple store in a shipping container. The purple dots on the glass became smaller and smaller until you could see the wall of shoes hung upon them… On the next page see pictures of the installation, the new Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, the new Nike Football+ iphone app (with twitter/facebook integrations), design sketches… and the full press release!

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Tags: fashion - football - gifts - london - nike - outdoors - shoes - shopping - soccer - sport - travel

On new shoe technology i gave in and had to try… Kenneth Cole’s 925 Technology was too fascinating not to pass up when i knew i’d be running around in inclimate weather through NY and London the next week… And i DID need some basic black pumps… and they feel crazy comfy/bouncy and are filled with things like Memory Foam, Cork, Flaxseed, and Sheepskin even! (See the dissected diagram on the next page!) The rubbery sole means really being able to bend in ways my pumps have never bent before… which after the last few days i’m a little mixed on the overly bendiness, it’s as if you have to hold yourself up even MORE in a way… though when i slipped back into my favorite louboutins they felt like i was in a thin padding free shell… if only i could get that memory foam in all my shoes?

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Tags: gifts - shoes - shopping - technology

So in the post where we showed you all the new Swims City Slippers for heels ~ there was much talk about why they didn't have some that covered the shoe fully, protecting your feet from splashing instead of just giving you more traction... well when reading our friends at Frizzi Frizzi, i noticed a post from a milan fair showing just that! So poking and prodding their PR for more information i've found out that those are actually only prototypes ~ and unfortunately they are not manufactured or available! I must say these remind me of dive booties in heel form ~ Perhaps with enough positive feedback we can help convince Swims to actually produce these!

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Tags: gifts - prototype - rain - shoes - shopping - swims

Swims gives us a first look at their latest innovation in the galoshes space to protect you (and your gorgeous shoes) from the rain and other messy, muddy places you wander through. Here's a peek at the new Swims City Slippers ~ the best detail is definitely the maps of NY, Paris, and Tokyo on the soles ~ although i do wonder if it means with every step in dirt, you can leave maps for the lost? It's flexible design is ready for heels of any thickness (but your wedges will have to wait for now), and its low cut so no bows or buckles get caught. The price is $95, they will be available on the site any day now and in stores within two weeks. They will be available in burgundy, black, pearl, red, purple and olive. I must say, i feel silly writing about rain products while i'm sitting in this LA heatwave, a nice cool rain and breeze would be quite nice right about now!

We're big fans of the classic mens and women's swims - as well as their push button open/close umbrellas after they saved both dan and i when running around NY for ICFF and into the woods of VT when only armed with dress shoes... so i can't wait to try these out! See our past reviews/posts about swims here - and see more images of the new Swims City Slippers on the next page!

UPDATE: check out Frizzi Frizzi's post with a hands on look at a few other new Swims designs!

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Tags: fashion - gifts - rain - shoes - shopping - swims

NOTCOT Note: This is the final post in my series of Ultimate Accessories posts which have been sponsored by the new Infiniti G Sedan! As with any sponsored content ~ these posts are done - my way - my product choices, my content, and they help me keep doing what i love!

Swims. I've shown you the Swims line before ~ and even a hands on review in the rain... but i never had a chance to share how amazing the umbrella and men's models are. So a few quick notes - when we spontaneously took off into the woods in vermont from our NY trip, we only had our nicer shoes... and both men's and women's shoes saved us! Even when we ran across the stream behind the log cabin. And the umbrellas - so nice that they both open and close with the push of a button! It certainly spoils you quickly when running in and out of so many down pours! Read more about Swims!

Tags: accessories - fashion - Infiniti Ultimate Accessories - rain - shoes - swims

NOTCOT Note: Love these awesome necklaces that Anna from Sub-Studio found!

Bernadette Deddens is a London-based accessories designer who views accessories as props that can add small-scale drama to daily life. Her work is playful and often has multiple narratives, requiring interaction by the user. For instance, a necklace that begins by mimicking a checkered linoleum floor but that can be transformed by the wearer into hundreds of configurations, or a bracelet that is both sculpture and bracelet. Check out her shoe accessories after the jump - it's a great collection of add-ons that dress up the shoes that you already have.

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Tags: accessories - bag - jewelry - shoes - sub-studio

Ran into blogfamous Sorapot designer, Joey Roth, a few times this weekend (yes, the first NOTCOT reader i ever met)... and after posting about his Garden Geta project over 3 years ago, i FINALLY got to see them in person!!!

At the Rubin Chapelle and IDSA New York Opening reception for Equilateral 08:01, they had Joey's Sorapot, Garden Geta, and Shika literally on pedastals, spotlighted for all to see, and being slightly early, but spotted walking past the window while they were setting up, Joey snuck me in early and i got some nice clean shots of the woodiest flip flops i've been dying to try on since '05. I am still in love with the fact that the pair are cut from the same slice of tree stump... and there must be some correlation to be drawn if he made kids pairs that were from younger trees... something about rings in the tree measuring your geta/shoe size? So check out more pics on the next page...

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Tags: fashion - green - icff - shoes - wood

I recently told you that i was hunting for rain so that i could do a proper review of the Swims show covers... and previously i showed you the beautiful photographs from their catalog... well yesterday when i went up to Sausalito for a meeting, it was RAINING! Well drizzling, and then got incredibly rainy as i came out of the tunnel... so here is an impromptu photoshoot and walk through of my Swims experience.

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Tags: gifts - rain - reviews - shoes - shopping - swims

HAPPY EARTH DAY! Sadly the weather got a bit drearier here where i'm hiding in norcal... BUT the good news is, i'm actually hoping it rains - since i just got a pair of black swims in my size to try out, and i was hoping to get them a bit wet and shoot some silly pics in the rain to try them out and share with you! So *fingers crossed*. (I did consider dancing around in sprinklers, but that just seemed silly.)

Anyhow, not to get all literal on you, but i was thinking about earth day, and reading all over about the footprint we're leaving... and i was realizing how i loved the trees on the soles of the Ms. Swims... and then i spotted these hilarious bespoke parisian wolf soled shoes, Berluti's Empeinte du Loup... and i couldn't resist a post about these awesome footprints you could be leaving everywhere you walk.

Also, you may remember swims with their gorgeous photography from this old post... and previously swims sent over a pair of pink, L sized swims... but i looked a bit ronald mcdonald in them, so pics below of the awesome packaging and shoe bag and the flexibility of the material... but coming soon (when it rains!) will be pics of how it works putting them on, taking them off, etc.

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Tags: rain - shoes - swims

I have that tendency to post things when i get really excited... really really late at night (like 4:30am?)... thing like the Nike 2008 Olympic Footwear collection, which has a new unique shoe for EVERY sport to be represented at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. And then as usual, i wake up, and start reading and clicking and browsing even FURTHER only to find another aspect of the story i just get so giddy about i can't help posting it. Well today, it was reading the design stories behind each and every shoe, and viewing the extremely high resolution images, have you LOOKED at some of these soles up close?

Shoe and sport aside, there is some fascinating materials design going on here. After the jump are some of the most interesting shoe soles and their Material Design Stories as found in the many press releases.

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Tags: materials - nike - shoes

Nike has designed a whole line of Olympic Footwear... one for every sport in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. And besides the usuals like track and field, basketball, etc... what fascinates me are their designs for things like Gymnastics, Wushu, Kayaking, Wind Surfing, Taekwondo, Equestrian, and Fencing. These were launched at the incredible 2 day press event: The Nike Beijing Innovation Summit (more images here).

View the most interesting designs after the jump ~ with a special feature on the fencing 'Ballestra' shoe (for Justine) ~ and just in case you have yet to see Kobe jump over an Aston Martin in the new Hyperdunks, i've embedded that as well!

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Tags: fashion - fencing - nike - olympics - shoes

This is an odd silly post, i know, but i couldn't resist. These Ben Sherman slip ons are super cheap ($40 on sale!)... and they were just so cute, they made me laugh when i saw them. They are Ben Sherman. They are black and white (with the ONE red ghosty). They are covered in Pacman Blinkies! (or is it Blinkys?). And some silly part of me half wants them. They are just too cute and silly. More pics below.

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Tags: fashion - pacman - shoes - shopping - video game

Prada. They've been grabbing my attention in every magazine lately with these illustration heavy images... (remember NotCouture #1478?) and while i'm still debating and mixed on the illustration on leather bag concept, i'm still loving the illustrations! So while checking out all of the Spring/Summer 08 collections and campaign, i couldn't help but share this incredible (HUGE like 17' x 200') wallpaper they have. Entitled Florid ~ Prada says it "represents the somewhat perverse intersection between Hieronymus Bosch and Aubrey Beardsley. The image depicts an intense landscape of man-eating flowers, dragons, hybrid creatures and eerie fairies." Above is one of my favorite sections of it... the full wallpaper, closeups, and images from the print campaign are after the jump!

UPDATE: Apologies for missing that this was the collaboration work of local LA artist James Jean, and that this wallpaper is hanging right in the Beverly Hills and Soho Epicenter stores sized at 17 x 200 feet! In my cold meds induced haze and excitement while being illustration/prada giddy, i'm terribly embarrassed for the slip up and really should know better than early morning posting! Forgive me? Also take a look at the second wallpaper on his site that isn't on Prada's.

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Tags: art - bag - fashion - gifts - illustration - prada - shoes - shopping

Swims. First impression? Are these the tuxedos of crocs? Can i really go puddle jumping with these and protect my nice shoes (that aren't heels.)? Love the photography! and web design! (particularly the way you access the gallery with the little stack of images on the far right. And then from there, i actually started reading... The Swims story is an interesting one of Johan, who grew up in norway and never let go of the galoshes that his grandfather had passed down to him... and as he moved to paris and new york and even put in his time at Parson's he realized that there was a need to develop Swims, the "modern galoshes". Being a socal girl, i have never gotten quite caught up on the vocabulary of people with "real weather"... apparently Galoshes are "overshoes that slip over the wearer's indoor footwear but is made of waterproof material to protect the more delicate materials of the shoe as well as the wearer's foot from cold and damp".

Fun detail other than great packaging... the "ballerina" version for ladies leaves trees where you step... and see some of my favorite images from their catalog below as well as close ups. And i know these are one of the trend blog post subjects that are everywhere this week, but they were so cool and no one covered the great photography aspect, so i couldn't resist.

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Tags: accessories - fashion - gifts - rain - shoes - shopping - swims

I'm a warm weather kind of girl. I'm not a rain kind of girl whatsoever. And for some reason i desperately want Welly Warmers and some adorably simple Hunter Wellies right now. I didn't even know Welly Warmers existed until about 5 minutes ago! So i blame Free People Blog for my new craving. Look how cute and cozy these look? More images below as well... Unfortunately Hunter's official site isn't quite ready yet, but these UK Boot folks seem pretty serious.

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Tags: fashion - gifts - rain - shoes - shopping

Giveaway! Sponsored by Cornerstone Promotions: Win a 4 gig Nano, a pair of Nike+ shoes, and the iPod sport kit.

As for the exciting new release behind this contest ~ Aesop Rock has done a pretty sweet original composition for the Nike+Original Run Series (this is the 3rd, the first two being LCD Soundsystem and Crystal Method). Also if you haven't checked out the Nike+ site lately, go look, i'm impressed with how much they worked in new ways of motivation (beautiful design, great use of social and tech) ~ they have everything from widgets to track your progress, to special workout compilations like this one! (see below for the sweet cover art, and clips to listen)... anyhow, this seemed like a good enough reason to help get us all out and about and away from our screens more.

How do you win? Email me your 3 (or more) favorite workout songs at contest@notcot.com and a winner will be picked on Wednesday, March 28th.

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Tags: ipod - music - shoes - technology

Oooooh. Stella McCartney's Spring/Summer 07 line with Adidas just launched... and i'm lusting for the bikini and the tennis bag...

Tags: fashion - outdoors - shoes - shopping