Going To Church's - Raf Simons kicks off a new era at Jil Sander

[drexl]

from men.style.com

"December 29, 2005—One of Raf Simons's first moves after taking over as Jil Sander creative director was to commission the cobblers at Church's to bring some old-school English craftsmanship to Sander's Teutonic aesthetic. The resulting footwear, which debuts early next month, gives fashion fans an advance look at Simons's vision for the label (check back in late January for more on that), and is also notable in its own right. The capsule collection consists of five different styles, each produced from butter-soft calf's leather. Highlights include the taupe cap-toe and the spat-inspired oxford with croc-detailing seen above—unsurprisingly, both would go nicely with the flowing pants seen throughout Raf's Spring 2006 collection. And the shoes' tech specs (or lack thereof) are as impressive as their design: As with all Church's footwear, the Sander kicks use "Goodyear" construction, which means that the last and top-leather are hand-stitched together, making them more comfortable and more durable. A good thing, since Simons's classic designs are clearly conceived to last well beyond next season.
Prices range from $585-$620; available at Jil Sander boutiques worldwide in early January.


— Mark Ellwood"

http://men.style.com/news/style/122905

 

[Colette_B]

ooh i like!

 

[skip-her]

I Love

 

[faust]

Heh, this has Bertelli all over it. Church is losing money for Prada - I guess they are trying to sex up the brand. Good luck with that.

 

[arlekindearrabal]

i love the taupe cap-top---

 

[Lena]

wow, i should get those myself,
see.. i have this 'thing' for 'old school' mens shoes and those here look simply a-do-ra-ble

thanks for bringing this in

 

[tricotineacetat]

Ahhh, these shoes are yummy, I love the ones in canvas, I´ve seen similar ones at Balenciaga in all-white canvas that were meant to look stained and used, I love the mix of inexpensive materials and supperior craftsmanship...! I hope they will also have a pair of ankle boots in canvas, I´d SOO buy a pair for me...

 

[tott]

Whether it was Bertelli or RAF that came up with the idea, I think this could work... The preview pic looks like pretty traditional Church's with a slight twist, it'll be interesting to see more!

 

[battles]

i shall reserve my judgement until i see more of these... it looks rather promising now though, i agree with tott on traditional Church's with a slight twist.

 

[Arturo21]

What so great about this? I love the fact that he's making a good quality product, hiring good craftsmen, blah blah.

But honestly, Gucci or YSL could have made those shoes.

 

[Baizilla]

Those shoes don't really appeal to me... i like those white lace-ups from the S/S 06 runway much more..

I look forward to see the pieces in person..

 

[RobbertJan]

hmm not really my style either...

 

[metal-on-metal]

Cool shoes. The Jil customer is very different from the Raf customer. It's collaborations like this that will bring the two a little closer. This is why Raf signed a deal with Prada.

 

[doo888]

Looks good and sounds promising.

Church's make some of the finest shoes in ready-to-wear.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I think this is a good sign of what to expect from the RTW come January.

 

[Benzo]

Sorry, a stupid question: who are the "Church"?

 

[tott]

"Church's" is an old shoe-making company, they've been around a long, long time. Great quality, traditional, expensive.

 

[galliano-homme]

churches made last seasons mui mui aswell so i think there is some kind of ongoing contract with prada. and the muimui shoes last season where the best i have seen from them but thats easy to say with the usual quality of prada footwear.

 

[Scott]

I adore traditions and I adore old craftsman houses...but with such an uber-contemporary,as Raf,who twists traditions with such ultra-modern perfection,I find that the style of the shoes look rather old and dated. They don't really look like something Raf would even do. That said,of course,without knowing the direction Raf is really going with JS. I mean,will he include some of his own experimental taste? If more classical it will work. At least for Prada's pockets' sake.

 

[Arturo21]

I'm hoping that those shoes don't represent his line entirely, except for the craftmanship. Hopefully it'll be a blend of his and Jil's genius, and I'm hoping for experimentalism with fabrics,etc. (Jil was great with fabrics)