For me, Belgian designer Veronique Branquinho epitomises everything that is stylish about the Antwerp fashion scene: a discreet sense of androgyny, minimalism, monochrome colour palettes and structured tailoring. Although her label collapsed last year in the midst of the global financial crisis, she has not completely disappeared from the fashion arena and her most recent project is a collaboration with Camper. Branquinho’s capsule collection for the Spanish footwear label’s Together project features three derby styles that showcase her simple and modern aesthetic. My first reaction upon viewing the neutral, two-toned lace-ups was the all too familiar sentiment of “I want them. I don’t care how much they cost”, but then I discovered that the shoes are, in fact, designed for men. Go figure.

Dapper gentlemen can find Branquinho’s collection online and in select boutiques.

Danica

Zuriick yet again ups their game with another fresh batch of good looking shoes. It seems to me like they’re starting to branch out from the standard sneaker genre, which I think is a smart move. Above are three of their newest styles, I’m not quite sure when they were released, but I’m really digging all of these.

In order they are the Madsen, Nadal Mids and the Shug Low. The variety of these shoes is what I like a lot, so if you only bought these three shoes you’d be set for pretty much any event. And the best part is that they’re all round $100, so you’re not breaking the bank by any means.

Bobby

I’ve been on Urban Outfitter’s press release mailing for a little while now and so I get a bit of a jump on what’s coming out next, which is always fun. So last week I got to see a preview of their spring and summer collaborations, one of them definitely caught my eye.

The shoes above are a collaboration with Quoddy, the Maine based manufacturer who’s been handmaking shoes since 1909. These are described as “Quoddy for UO Deck Shoe” so my guess is this collaboration is much like the one they did with The Brothers Bray. Quoddy designed the shoe but their constructed in China for less and UP distributes them. I don’t know if this is true, it’s just my guess. Update: Whoops, my guess was wrong, and I quote, “the shoes are made in Maine with the same materials and construction process as the Quoddy’s main line.” Good to know.

Either way I definitely love this shoe and I couldn’t find anything on the Quoddy site that was quite like this, so I’m pretty excited. I think the color choice is spot on and that these would be damn comfortable to wear around all summer long. I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for when they launch.

Bobby