By Chevaun Jackson
“Shoes are a critical element for me to help support my design story on the runway each season. For Spring 2011, my Payless line is inspired by Lima, Peru, and the culture’s powerful mix of Peruvian textiles, architecture and a balance of old and new.” – Lela Rose
Lela Rose’s spring 2011 collection for Payless has 5 styles each named for a city in the iconic city:
Loreto— a stripped wedge heel with a birds nest opening; inspired by the city’s hillside landscape where homes are set in horizontal lines across the colorful mountain areas
Magdalena—a rich brown raffia-wrapped textile wedge sole with a birds nest opening; inspired by Peru’s heritage in textiles, it will be featured in a rich jewel green upper
Olaya—a wedge wrapped in Peruvian navy-clay colored woven textile with a T-strap
Canevaro—a T-strap dress heel
Olivos— an all-satin cocktail shoe
What works in the collection are the use of color in the wedges. I particularly love the simplicity of Olivos which is a beautiful contrast to the intricate textile detailing of Magdalena and Olaya’s wedges. What seems to fall a bit stale is the repetitive nature of the T-strap and bird’s nest openings of the shoes. I would have liked to see more of a change not only in the wedge itself but in the arch décor. Based on last seasons price range of flats at $34.99 to pumps at $49.99, I would assume that this collection will probably be closer to the $49.99 side of things and may even go up from there to anywhere around $79.99 or $89.99.