London Fashion Week Designers Launch Shoes With Aldo Rise

Preen for Aldo Rise, available at Selfridges.com.

If you'd been wondering through London's Selfridges last night, you might have stumbled upon the launch of one of the most exciting high street and designer collaborations to date. Bringing the catwalk to the masses, US shoe brand Aldo has created affordable and covetable collections with not one, not two, but three London Fashion Week hot designers.

Up and coming fashion world favourite J.W.Anderson, knitwear maverick Mark Fast and Preen twosome, Justin Thornton and Thea Bragazzi, came together as the guests of honour yesterday evening, in Selfridges' French restaurant Aubaine to celebrate each of their capsule collections, which were only made possible by the shoe brand's Aldo Rise scheme. Helping emerging fashion brands produce their catwalk shows, the scheme not only helps with the show's promotion, but helps designers create their perfect shoes to go with their current collections; shoes which have today hit the famous Selfridge's Shoe Galleries in a one-month pop-up store of sartorial dreams.

Left to right: J.W.Anderson and Mark Fast for Aldo Rise

Irish designer J.W.Anderson was not only thrilled with his collection, but thinks collaborations like this are the future of fashion: "I have no issue with collaborations. They represent modernity. At this time of year and with the today's fashion market, they make so much sense" the designer told Vogue . "Collaborations help so much. Aldo offers incredibly quality for the high street - they helped me design shoes in a way I couldn't have done on my own, from production to marketing."

For those who want to get their hands on these one-off creations, the prices range between £125-£135, and they will be available at the pop-up store and at Selfridges.com only, for the next month. But if you can't move that fast, never fear, because Asos.com have snapped them up from February 22. Failing that, (for those who really can't get their acts together), they'll be hitting Aldo stores worldwide from March 8 onwards as well, so there's no excuse not to snap up this covetable slice of catwalk style.

(Daily Telegraph U.K.)