CARMEN GET IT!

BAGGING the latest It-accessory just isn't enough anymore: this season is all about the limited edition shoe. As well as planning the April opening of his new store on Hans Street, Knightsbridge, Rupert Sanderson has created Carmen. Sanderson joins Manolo Blahnik, who is currently designing two unique shoes for his new Kuwait boutique (for more details, click here); Christian Louboutin, who has made Activa, a midnight blue stiletto, exclusively for Harvey Nichols, and Burberry, who got in on the act with an ostrich-trim slingback for Matches. The king of elegant heels, Sanderson decided on a gold leather sandal knotted at the toe for Carmen. "My inspiration can come from anywhere from the most mundane to the most luxurious and rarefied," says Sanderson. "In the case of the Carmen 'knot shoe' my imagination was sparked by the knot of a Judo suit - the rows of stitching in this instance used to add strength to a garment worn in one of the world's most physical sports translated into a striking detail on a luxurious evening shoe. Limited edition shoes work as promotional tool both in a design and retail sense. There is a strong demand for exclusivity, customers want to feel that they have something special - something that isn't available in unlimited quantities."