I’m finally back to the frozen tundra that is Massachusetts and out of the Las Vegas lights. I have to say, Las Vegas is fun for a few days but 2 weeks is entirely too long to be in Sin City. As far as the shoe and fashion shows go, it all went well. As promised I have a few pictures to share. Among the many Shoe designers and fashion moguls in attendance, here’s a taste of Italian brands that participated:
Bruno Magli, Sergio Rossi, Primigi Italia, Massimo Bonini, Katia Lombardo, Panetulipani, Emilio Pucci, Giuseppe Zanotti, Lorenzo Banfi, Superga, Rodolfo Zengarini…. and others. The World Shoe and Accessories Shoe (WSA) is held in 3 different convention centers simultaneously to give you a scope of the show’s size. In addition, they occupy several floors of suites in the Venetian Hotel and Casino where designers have private showings of their products. This is called, “The Collections” and is becoming a popular and cost effective way to participate although difficult to get into. We (my client) were in the “contemporary shoes” area at Mandalay Bay, so my photos are from that area.

Havaianas’ booth… the Brazilian sandal brand.

Rocket Dogs – E loves this brand. Their booth gets bigger each show.

Marc Ecko Footwear….. Can you say 35 year old Billionaire?

PF Flyers…. Run Faster, Jump Higher. Also my client. We won the best booth award! (under 800 sqf)

Bye Las Vegas…. see you in July. Next stop: Barcelona.

If you read my post on Super Tuesday below, it was raining cats and dogs…. well it hasn’t stopped since. We had a mighty thunder/lighting storm last night and buckets of rain. Correction, it has stopped raining…. it’s now snowing. I’m ok with the snow. I live in New England and if you live in this part of the US, you sort of sign up for long cold winters. That’s why it’s important to have a fireplace, plenty of wood and a good stock of vino:)

I’ll get a reprieve from the wintery weather as I’m leaving for the desert on Sunday…. that’s right, LAS VEGAS! where the streets are paved with gold (or something like that.) Don’t be jealous just yet…. yes, Las Vegas can be fun if you go for a few days and have nothing to do but gamble, see the sights and eat but I go to Las Vegas for work every February and every July/August for the Project Show and the World Shoe Show. I will be in Vegas for 15 days…. which is sort of a prison sentence.

The World Shoe Show!! For all you lover of shoes…. this is “THE SHOW” not only do they have all your favorite brands, they have shoes that won’t be coming out until this fall 08 and Spring 09…. so stuff that hasn’t been seen yet. To top it off, the trade show booths get more and more interesting each year. Last show at the end of July/August, I took a walk around the show as I usually do and bumped into an old favorite that I had almost forgotten about. SUPERGA. There is no shoe more Italian and that has lasted over the years as SUPERGA. What should you expect from an Italian company at the World Shoe Show? Creativity of course! and SUPERGA didn’t disappoint. They got my vote for most creative booth. Check out the picture of the SUPERGA booth below. Each shoe is tied onto a miniature Fiat 500 with it’s laces. Pretty cool. I guess they’re making a push here in the US and I am all for it!
So speaking of Italian shoes, what’s your favorite Italian shoe brand??

The photo above is from Pturtas on flickr.