I was having an early walk in London’s Marylebone on Tuesday morning, the sort of walk you have with the purpose to get lost and discover something nice and I wasn’t disappointed. Just around the corner from Dorset Street, I found the Caroline Groves/Felix Spicer studio. Unfortunately, since it was rather early, the place was shut, but I could still admire their work from the outside.
Let’s start with Caroline Groves’ work: this designer and shoemaker is actually the only woman in the UK who offers a complete bespoke shoemaking service exclusively to women.
There were a few stunning models of Caroline Groves’ shoes in the shop window, all of them absolutely stunning: the peep toe platform shoes had a sort of ‘40s feel about them, the materials – the finest suede and calfskin leather - looked really luxurious and I loved the little exotic and quirky details such as the bows, the leather tongues covering the toe or the hand-painted flowers. There was nothing extremely trendy about the models in the window, but that’s mainly because Groves is understandably not into trends and seasons and that’s what makes her stuff even better, her creations can indeed stand the test of time.
All the shoes in the window were stylish and characterised by a sort of irreverent flamboyancy, carefully studied proportions with solid heels designed to give a comfortable elevation and the sort of love and passion for shoemaking and craftsmanship that probably Pietro Yantorny put in his work.
The actual shop window bore instead the imprint of another artist: upholsterer, interior designer and art historian Felix Spicer, who launched a couple of year ago his first collection of hand-printed fabrics. The designs on the shop window are based on late 1800s French and Italian hairpins, elements that Spicer has also used to decorate his fabrics and wallpapers.
It’s funny how it takes you a while to realise that those motifs reproduced on a repeated pattern on the shop window are blown up combs as their exquisite carvings make them look like fine architectural elements. The black and white hairpins are somehow deceptive as they only look superficially the same, but their are actually very different. It will be interesting to follow future projects by Spicer and see if he turns up with more original and unique designs or decides to go back to being an art historian.
A last note: I don’t usually like stuffed animals under glass domes, but I found the birds with their stomach open to reveal a ballet pump and a string of pearls intriguingly disturbing (apologies for the plastic bag full of rubbish reflecting on the shop window...).
Caroline Groves/Felix Spicer, 37 Chiltern Street, London, UK
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