I have been working on a number of exciting projects this summer and one of the most enjoyable has been working with the very talented British footwear designer Joanne Stoker. Joanne and I met - very fittingly on Twitter and I have been a fan of her footwear since she started several years ago.  I was delighted that she agreed to design the front cover of our forthcoming text book - Marketing Fashion Footwear due out next year and also took the opportunity to float a bigger idea past her.....

What emerged is now is a truly innovative and exciting collaboration between Joanne and the US spa footwear brand Oka-B.  We created a signature multi-coloured reflexology sandal that promotes health and well-being! 

Oka-B is designed with the core principles of reflexology, the ergonomic footbed has a beaded texture that gently massages the foot as you walk. Inspired by both comfort and the therapeutic design Joanne reinvented the classic slide with her geometric signature logo and a quintessential bold colour palette with a twist, and the results are stunning!

Joanne learned her art at the renowned Cordwainers College in London where she graduated with a Masters in Footwear Design. She was spotted and mentored by Jimmy Choo before establishing her own eponymous brand and has previously collaborated with Matthew Williamson and Dune.  Joanne's collections have won many awards including the highly prestigious Vogue Talents Award.  I love working with talented people and we are doing it all again for SS16. Next Saturday we will be launching the colours for next Summer - at a digital presentation for the worlds fashion press and buyers as part of the official London Fashion Week Schedule. 

The autumn 2015 collection consists of six colours, vibrant guava orange contrasts with olive green and marine blue, and tones of dove grey, copper and classic liquorice black. All adorned with Joanne’s signature design on a classic Oka-B slide. The Joanne Stoker Sindy Slide is available exclusively at  Joanne Stoker and Oka-B UK  

Confidence from the feet up in gold!

If you thought flat shoes were only for the sensible or suffering among us you should think again. The recent backlash against the apparent Cannes 'no heels on the red carpet' has had feminists and fashionistas alike stomping around extolling the virtues, safety aspects and health benefits of the flat!

The truth is ..... flats are comfortable and when you are comfortable you can concentrate on being confident. And when you feel confident you can take what life throws at you!

In the inimitable words of Marylin Monroe

"Give the girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world"

Whether your choice is heels, wedges, ballet flats, sandals or sneakers step out today being comfortable and confident. Don't make your footwear choice hinder how you approach the day.

NB I'm wearing gold flip flops today just hoping it doesn't rain!

Bank holidays and reflection

Last week I was quite disappointed not to be going away or having a packed social schedule but the recent bank holiday gave me the opportunity for a bit of 'reflection' as we academics like to call it!!

This week at LCF we talked about what it means to be a leader. Spurred on by Nic Askew's film with Jenny Garrett called Unprotected Conversation,it asks some beautiful questions about leadership - particularly - would you follow you?

The film and the ensuing conversation gave us a lot to think about and reminded me of the first experiences I had with the concept of reflection - in short I found it quite hard to grasp so I spent some time putting my thoughts in order.

In order to reflect you need...

1 something to happen to you or to be actively involved in an event, project, activity.  Get out and about, put yourself on the line, volunteer, take a chance, change something - most importantly experience something.

2 time - anything that has substance, experience or value takes time to create, grow and develop. The reflection process is not fast but it can't all be done at the end either.  It's an ongoing process where we need to check in and see how things are doing - mostly ourselves!

3 self awareness, a bit of respect for the process and an understanding of why we are doing it.

This final point for me is the most important and reminded me of an experience I had several years ago.  I started a PGCE - teacher training course for university lecturers and the buzz words at the time were amongst others 'critical reflection'.  Relatively new to teaching I immediately took a disdain to this term and suggested that I was too busy 'doing' the teaching to 'criticise and reflect' and this type of 'naval gazing' was unnecessary.  Soon after I changed jobs, suspended my studies and had a baby and then picked the course up again at a different university.  A few years older and with much more (life) experience I gathered together my thoughts.  I realised that I didn't understand the process - or why I was being asked to 'reflect'.  No one simplified it for me,  but in short having a greater level of self awareness allows you to see how this impacts on your life, work and relationships.  Taking a little time out to reflect on something that has happened can allow you to do this.

Reflection is a slow process and if we are kind enough to give ourselves a break we can become more aware of our impact on others.  After a quiet bank holiday weekend I asked myself Jenny's question again - would I follow me?  On a good day - yes.  Although I still have a lot more 'naval gazing' to do - only next time somewhere on a beach!

Have a good week! x

Innovation, Leadership and Juggling at London College of Fashion

Some time ago I was invited to speak at a couple of lectures at London College of Fashion on the subject of innovation and leadership in fashion and I am delighted to be able to return to LCF at the end of April for a 6 week series. I will be updating my blog on the areas that we'll cover and I hope that you will check in each week to see how we get on!
To give you a taster ....
What is Innovation?
What is Leadership?
What or who is an Entrepreneur?

I love Ted talks and they are a brilliant and accessible way to get thinking about these ideas
as a start ....where do good ideas come from?
Where good ideas come from

The excellent Harvard Business Review also gets you thinking about what makes a leader?  A post that is over 10 years old but really introduces the idea of emotional intelligence....
Harvard Business Review

...and to finish I will share a recent experience I had with leadership.  In December last year I was invited to participate in a painting project that gathered together women leaders in Liverpool.  The intention was / is to raise the profile of a project that has inspired and supported women from a variety of difficult backgrounds and experiences in life and through the power of painting and community can over come difficult times in life. 

BIG LOVE SISTA  is an emotional, messy and gorgeous jumble of fascinating women who are drawn together by the wonderful Clare Campbell.  Clare is without doubt one of the most inspirational leaders of an incredible tribe of women I have ever had the good fortune to meet. She inspired me not only to paint (for the first time in 20 years) but to step up to be the leader that I know I can be - I am a 'Shoe Bird' but also 'The Juggling Goddess'