LFW: Showroom Next Door: Mr. Hare AW10

As mentioned yesterday, I had an amazing time discovering the AW10 collections from a few of my old favourites and acquainting myself with new labels inside Showroom Next Door. After introducing you to wonderful knitwear of The Inoue Brothers in my previous post, the time has come to unveil the first glimpses of Mr. Hare's AW10 collection. My feet and heart have been twitching to share these images and the wait is over...

Mr Hare aims to give us all a boost.

Regular readers would have noticed that I have been pretty much been endlessly salivating over my keyboard ever since I first encountered Mr. Hare's leather masterpieces. We were both excited and intrigued when our favourite shoeist announced he was taking his obsession one step further and rolling up his sleeves to create his own line for AW09 and we have not been disappointed by the results ever since. For AW10 Mr Hare looks beyond the English Channel for inspiration and focuses his attention on Paris and the French New Wave Film movement in particular...

We asked Mr Hare to provide a couple of images from his inspiration scrap book.

Paris in 1950's and 60's was an exciting an unpredictable time and Mr Hare's has mirrored this in his new line. The New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm. Many also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical experiments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general break with the conservative paradigm. The names of a few of its prominent pioneers, Francois Truffault, Jean Luc Godard and Andre Bazim are given to the most radical shoes, the man heels.



Mr. Hare’s man is sartorially, a swan amongst geese, worldly in the modern way and as rural as urban. Equipped with charm and good humour in spite of the times. He is comfortable in himself and displays attitude not on his sleeve, but in the engagement of the audience he has since departed. It takes a particular type of man to be able to wear the selection of shoes above. I stand at five foot and ten inches and have often dreamed of a late growth burst to take elevate me to my ideal height of six foot one. As genetics have left me wanting, perhaps I could turn to Mr. Hare's leather creations? I am reminded of an almost forgotten article I read by Jean Paul Goude who discussed the idea of body modification. Goude was a firm believer that minor body enhancements, like heels or shoulder pads could greatly transform and ultimately enhance the male silhouette. I appreciate that these won't be for everyone but why should they be?

The collection does have something for everyone though and I am particularly taken wit the reworkings of a couple of Mr. Hare classics. If there is one shoe in Mr Hare's arsenal which can do everything, the Miller is it and it has been wonderfully reworked for AW10. Like its literary namesake, the Miller can mix it up in both high and low society, it can be dressed up and down according to the whims and fancies of the wearer.

My feet are crying out for these revised Millers. Mr hare has swapped the leather and suede so that these will age beautifully.

Lastly, I am pleased to announce that the much loved Genet loafer will finally be going in to production for AW10. Mr. Genet was Mr. Hare’s first ever loafer. It is something of a cad of a loafer holding six tassels of soft velvet, trailing at a rakish angle. There are few men with the romantic heart and cold blooded confidence to rock these, but for those who do, Mr. Hare and myself salute you.

A close up of the Genet. The wait is over.

Tune in later this week when we catch up with our favourite shoe aficionado at the Fashion East Menswear Installations...

The shoes proudly sitting on the shelves inside Showroom Next Door.