Catherine Malandrino Shoes
In fresh fuchsia velvet that’s rich and cheeky-chic, with an ambitious arch built on space and clarity and steel, these Catherine Malandrino shoes are boss, these Catherine Malandrino shoes are a metaphor for how I’d like my career of fluffy fashion journalism genius to play out: In a steady, hard rise that reeks brains and luxury and–S-E-X.
Dada Code M MP3 Player Shoes
You can get refrigerators with TVs in them these days, so perhaps Dada's new Code M mp3-playing basketball shoes—the first in their Wireless Footwear System—aren't tooridiculous. They can broadcast your music to your wireless headphones if you want to keep your music to yourself, or play your music over the built-in speakers in the shoes if you want others to hear them.
Dada's site doesn't say how good the shoe sound will be (presumably stereo) or how large the memory will be (only that the shoe will store up to 100 songs), and there's no indication of release date, but the SRP is $199.99. We emailed in to ask about getting a test unit for review, we'll let you know if Code M is for real or vaporware.
Shoe Tax
Italian and Spanish footwear manufacturers are gearing up to support the continuance of high tariffs on cheap Chinese shoes, which were put into place to help the European manufacturers protect against an influx of imported goods. Specifically, they were a response to a surge in the import of Chinese footwear and leather goods, which had a negative effect on the sale of Italian, French, Polish and Spanish footwear. Many retailers and most EU member states, though, oppose the measures (put into place in 1996), which comprise a 16.5% duty on Chinese shoes and a 10% tariff on Vietnamese.
The tariffs were extended in October of last year by Lord Mandelson, the European Trade Commissioner at the time; the extension runs through this October, and further extension depends on the state of the market. On October 22, the Commission must decide whether or not to maintain the tariffs. If the Commission decides not to maintain them, the tariffs will be automatically lifted in January. Maintaining the tariffs will have a negative impact on trade relations between Asia and Europe, something that could affect the World Trade Organization as it attempts to garner support for the Doha Round of trade negotiations.










