Brian Atwood takes the high way for its first Fashion Film and Ad Campaign

Notorious luxury shoe brand Brian Atwood, currently owned by The Jones Group, has released its first ever ad campaign and accompanying fashion film. Unexpectedly for a first campaign, this one here, brain child of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (photography), Giovanni Bianco (creative direction) and Elisabeth Sulcer (styling), features model Candice Swanepoel in explicit and highly sexual poses.

"The Sex Is In The Heel". The name pretty much says it all: exploring a woman's sexuality and her desire for control.

The mood of both the film and the ads is very Madonna-Human-Nature/Justify-my-love-like with a lot of voyeurism, sexual submission and sensual tension. Watch it for yourself and cast your vote: kinky or trashy?

It's kind of like the opening scene or, better yet, the trailer for a classy porn movie. And I love it (but that's no shock to those who've friended me on Facebook or follow my tumblr blog and know I have a thing for explicit photography).

Back to the campaign, kudos to the team for being so daring, especially when it's their first ever! Still, as much as I love it, I think there will be a lot people dismissing it for being too explicit and I guess they're not gonna get featured in that many magazines. But, hey, it's one of the best shoe campaigns ever, so they should celebrate anyway!

Do you think it's too much? Or are you hooked?

honest by. takes on footwear: the Maison des Talons shoe collection

I've written a couple of articles about honest by. so far, since their launch back at the beginning of the year (here and here). So I guess you can say I've been taken over by their environmentally-concious concept and their minimalistic collections with a perfect eye for details. Or that I've developped a little bit of an obsession for the Belgian brand.

Either way, you have to appreciate what Bruno Pieters, the designer behind the brand, is doing: creating flawless clothes with flawless designs out of organic and skin-friendly fabrics, using techniques that won't harm the environment, but preserve it. Besides the first collection, which was, naturally, signed by Bruno Pieters, honest by. teams up with different international designers to create capsule-collections which mix two strong DNAs: the environment-driven concept typical for honest by. and the creativity typical for the guest designer. If you ask me, their collections are right at the crossroads of Ready-to-Wear highway and Couture rue.

This time, honest by. is taking on footwear. Their newest collaboration - and their first focused on shoes - is signed by Maison des Talons, an Italian shoe brand known for its ellaborated Art Deco heels.

The two designers behind Maison des Talons, Susanne Villiger and Bettina Bieler, have created for honest by. a limited shoe line starring three different styles, all true to their concept and architectural design: sandals, lace-up heeled booties and kitten heeled shoes.

They all feature cut-out designs, asymmetricals lines, stiletto heels and the use of much needed colour. They've been made in Europe, in the eco-friendly factories Maison des Talons owns in Italy, using carefully selected vegan fabrics. The result: a couple of shoes girls with attitude can proudly strut in around the city.

They're a bit pricey (380 - 660 euros), but, hey!, you can easily get away with that "I'm gonna invest in my closet" line. Click and shop here.

So, what's your take on the brand and their newest collection?