Shoe art

​​I’ve gone with this topic again because of the revelation last week of Wiggo’s new shoes. 

I love the design because it harks back to an inspiration I’ve always seen as synonymous with the 1960s and Mod. In this case, Wiggo chose a design that is one of Paul Weller’s signature guitar designs (although from which kind of album period, I’m not sure - I’m guessing mid Setting Sons?) and it’s pure pop art. 

Both the shoes and guitar look great - sharp lines and bold colours, effectively an enlarged Roy Lichtenstein cartoon. As I mentioned in my post a while back, the Who took up the pop art banner in a big way when they started, surfing on a multicoloured tide of union jack blazers, RAF roundels and a whole collection of zany patterns and bold colours that was infused into their clothes and reflected in their earlier uncomplicated, chord-driven tunes.

There should be more of this. 

It’s possible to do it wrong of course. Ben Sherman had a go, but their Beatles shirts were a bit kitsch - using a well known logo and plastering it all over a shirt was a bit opportunistic IMO. 

Having said that, it probably sold well for non-Mods looking to be associated with the world’s supposed greatest band. But they should try again with some other stuff. 

Pretty Green have gone paisley mad this season: shirts, t-shirts, parkas, light jackets, hats and even footballs. As I said earlier in the week, I would definitely be up for some paisley socks too. 

But the point is clear - the paisley pattern is epic, always looks great in the sun and I’ll bet it sells like hot cakes. Paisley came a bit after pop art, but the idea is the similar. These kind of patterns and colours were what attracted me to Mod in the first place and they absolutely capture the fire and imagination of 1960s optimism, bullishly looking to the future.

I hope Wiggo inspires similar feats of outrageous Modernism.