Legs bare and legs covered up to there. When it came to the shoes at Altuzarra’s Fall show, they were all or nothing, but whatever the proportion, the level of style was high and heavy. His inspiration: Corto Maltese, the sailor hero of a retro French comic book, who had exploits in Morocco and India and whose mother was a gypsy. All these elements combined for a collection brimming with exotic influences, from kutch banjara dresses to foreign military details to folk-artsy medallions and coins. The shoes proved to be just the right counterpart to this blend of naval structure and plentiful homespun details. Lightly lace-wrapped booties and sexy thigh-high silhouettes, leather enhanced with intriguing seams and loads of crocodile. Altuzarra even shows he is competent enough to have a sophisticated way with fringe, a detail I’m not usually the hugest fan of; his thigh-grazing boots had a cool “naughty toreador headed West” feel. Statement shoes you can actually wear (though the higher variations are for leggy, attention-grabbing types, for sure): no small feat, even for a young visionary.
