Beige gets the boot

Back in the rsquo20s at the height of the womenrsquos liberation movement in the West womenrsquos fashion the only kind of fashion there was back in the day really mdash men just wore clothes veered sharply away from figurehugging lines to looser fits Kuntal Verma an avid cricketer who owns five pairs of brightly coloured shoes at Bandra Boyish figures short haircuts tubular dresses and trousers caught on as corsets and the sort of dresses that flattered Hollywood goddess Ingrid Bergmanrsquos figure receded into the background But that was almost a hundred years ago So perhaps itrsquos about time someone took up the cause of menrsquos fashion Prince Harry made a daring statement in 2002 when he stepped into full view of the paparazzi sporting bold pink nail polish and just months ago that formidable pirate Johnny Depp was seen flaunting a metallic peacock shade Now thanks to the funky new footwear collections of highend brands like Yves Saint Lauren Christian Louboutin Alexander McQueen and Todrsquos to name a few the truly fashionliberated man can breathe new life into his boring shoerack too Zarir Warden the 25 yearold lead singer of The Other People with his fancy shoes at Nariman Point Even if all you ever wear is a black tshirt and a pair of jeans slip into these funky new shoes and you can seriously pump up your style quotient American entertainer Usherrsquos YSL Mojave leopard print Chukka sneakers may be a bit too much for you if you usually stick to beige or black shoes but you shouldnrsquot have much trouble following Farhan Akhtarrsquos footsteps The actordirector recently teamed a bright yellow pair of shoes with casual khaki cargoes and a plain tshirt Beige gets the boot Guys love green If like 25yearold Andheri resident Kuntal Verma you tend to shop spontaneously look around when you take a walk down Linking Road and yoursquore bound to find bright printed menrsquos shoes Verma senior relationship manager with the Indian Institute of Planning and Management IIPM tells us he has made quite a few interesting additions to his collection from there and from South Mumbai too Mohammed Asif a shoe stall owner at Grant Road says the bright green and black hightop shoes Rs 250 are hot sellers at his shop Grant Road shoeshop owner Mohammed Asif confirms as do a lot of other young men Asif who owns two shoe shops says college kids and twentysomethings comprise the bulk of his clients for brightly coloured shoes He shows us a green and black streaked hightop canvas pair that is a particular favourite with the guys and says he sells two to four pairs daily An avid cricketer Verma owns a pair of black and white chequered shoes and has bought five other pairs in bright colours Ask him how other guys react to the sight of his footwear and he laughs ldquoBrightly coloured shoes are popular with quite a few of my friends but there some guys I know who arenrsquot comfortable with such colours toordquo Studs in your sneakers Celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania says Indian men are getting comfortable with the idea of incorporating colour into their wardrobes through their shoes ldquoFashion forward men have been aware of the trend for a while nowrdquo she says remembering Hrithik Roshanrsquos shoes in the 2006 film Dhoom 2 and an advertisement in which Saif Ali Khan sported blue shoes some time ago ldquoGreen red and blue shoes have been seen for a while Studded sneakers too are super cool at the momentrdquo If itrsquos sneakers you seek Christian Louboutin has introduced a striking SpringSummer 2012 collection with studs and multicoloured metallic leather Louboutin also offers a leopard print studded with spikes in the new Pik Boat collection Theyrsquore the kind of shoes 25 yearold lead singer of The Other People Zarir Warden may like we imagine as Warden tells us about his almost exclusive preference for sneakers and a special proclivity for hightop shoes He is dressed in a simple tshirt and a pair of jeans when we meet him but his shoes are shiny silver with bright blue streaks Sober tees and blingy shoes Adajania wouldnrsquot have had it any other way ldquoI totally recommend wearing bright shoes with neutral cleaner colours Team them with denims and a simple tee or maybe with a casual khaki ensemblerdquo she advises ldquoDonrsquot try too hard The beauty of this trend is that it can brighten up your wardrobe in a jiffyrdquo she points out adding that while brightly coloured pants are a huge trend too she canrsquot see every man wearing those ldquoBright shoes are easier on the eyes and just safer I thinkrdquo she says In fact she just bought her husband film director Homi Adajania a pair of blue shoes a couple of months ago ldquoI didnrsquot think hersquod wear them but he didrdquo Louboutinrsquos 2012 collection boasts a gorgeous array of hightop sneakers in dazzling prints but when we ask Warden if hersquod wear these he shakes his head firmly ldquoI never wear black shoes unless itrsquos a formal occasion and I never wear funky printsrdquo he says showing us another white and gold pair of sneakers from his collection about two years old How do we know the Churchgate residentrsquos not chasing the trend ldquoI used to have a bright green pair of sneakers a long time ago and have even sported yellow and orange shoes in the past Fellowbandmembers also sport bright shoes from time to timerdquo he adds Ferrari on your feet Sneakers must come in handy for Warden during his highenergy performances but even if yoursquore a sports enthusiast and live in running shoes the striking neon shades included in Nikersquos 2012 collection of running shoes would tempt you to hop aboard this bandwagon For approximately Rs 5600 you can even customise the print and colours on a Nike Lunarfly15 iD running shoe Italian brand Todrsquos on the other hand has managed to fuse another familiar male passion mdash cars more specifically Ferrari mdash with one of their classic menrsquos shoe styles the Gommino to produce a brand new exclusive line of moccasins introduced in stores overseas in September last year First displayed in black and white chequered panels when Singapore hosted the Formula 1 race the Ferrari Gommino is available in six bright shades including Ferrarirsquos famous red Pavers England available at Phoenix Mills Lower Parel Mumbai Oberoi Mall Goregaon E R City Mall Ghatkopar W and at the Pavers England Store on Linking Road also offers a supremely comfortable collection of loafers in a bright red at Rs 5499 The ubiquitous Bata too has some interesting colour combinations in their menrsquos sneakers collection for summer 2012 so you can count on it this is going to be one bright summeru00a0