001
The rise of the Cordwainer
Welcome to the first issue of the OTHER GOODS Substack - a place where I can tell you about all the things we’re working on and what we’re currently obsessed with.
Did you SEE the magic that was Australian Fashion Week??
So-called Australia is not necessarily known for fashion week, but people (like myself) are going bonkers over the 2024 productions.
Two favourites include Wackie Ju1 and Emily Watson2 - both Naarm-based brands with incredibly striking and cohesive bodies of work. But today I want to talk about Nicol & Ford, and more specifically their longtime collaborator: footwear designer and cordwainer3 MATEA GLUŠČEVIĆ.
Nicol & Ford - always sexy, always alluring, always freaky (and after THORN, a little spooky!) - have commissioned Matea Gluščević’s (pronounced GLOOSH-cheh-vich) work for their runways for the past two years. Some pieces were even were featured in our SILLY BUSINESS photoshoot last year:
If you weren’t banking on madness from Matea, now is the time to recalibrate.
It’s safe to say that Gluščević took fashion week by storm (even being dubbed the new ‘It-Girl’ by the Herald Sun) and it would have been unexpected if you were not waiting with baited breath, like I was.
You see, I knew what was coming…and it still hit me like a tonne of bricks.
My eyes bulged as I saw the first cling-wrapped model come clip-clopping down the Nicol & Ford runway.
From towering hooves, to delicate - almost Victorian - silhouettes, and then back to TEETERING chopines, the brain of Matea Gluščević is unmatched (and honestly, a little bit frightening).
Matea’s works seem to defy gravity, as seen in the closing look worn by model Jamaica Moana:
Though they form the foundation of our outfits (and our bodies!!), the work that goes into making the shoes on our feet is often overlooked, in favour of the intricacies of other wearable garments. Why? Because no one know how the fuck they’re made!!!
2024 has seen an uptick in interest in the cordwaining profession - due in part to visibility (as with Matea and Fashion Week), the Shoe School opening up in Naarm, and also MEEEEEEE, as I have been telling everyone who will listen about TWO FIVE (made in Coburg by Tim Gleig) and Matea Gluščević for the better part of two years.
You’re welcome.
You can try works from Matea’s latest collection OCEAN GIRL 3000 at OTHER GOODS. Take a look at the TOES IN THE SAND TABIS and FRANGIPANI SEAHORSE MULES now.
Piping hot regards,
Monikha xox
View the entire Nicol & Ford runway HERE.
a cordwainer is a shoe maker - as opposed to a footwear designer, or a cobbler (someone who repairs shoes).