DIY PRADA INSPIRED PLATFORM SNEAKERS

Recently I had the pleasure of working with FOAM Magazine on a DIY project for their magazine (see here for their online post), a pair of raffia embellished creepers (aka platform sneakers).

I know I wasn’t the only person who fell in love with the prada platform brogues complete with raffia edging. I decided to get crafty and have a try at making a similar pair. Never one to copy something exactly, I made a black and white version to pay homage to the A/W monotone colour trend, and stuck with only a slight platform – you can always do more of a platform by adding more layers of foam if you like.

You’ll need:

A pair of lace up canvas sneakers (try a cheap shoe store or supermarkets)

Foam for the platform – I used a pair of old flip flops

2 shoe soles – I cut them off a very old pair of sneakers but you can also get them from a cobbler or buy an extra pair of canvas sneakers in a different colour.

Flexible glue and a hot glue gun

Raffia – I used plaited straw raffia from a craft store.

A stanley knife and sandpaper for adjusting shoes/foam for the platforms so they fit together.

Step 1. Glue the sole and the foam together using the flexible glue. Then glue the sneakers to the foam.

Step 2. Press the three layers together and let dry overnight. I weighed mine down with some bricks to apply the right amount of pressure.  

Step 3. Once the glue has dried, hot glue two layers of raffia around the edge of the shoes to completely cover up the foam. Make sure any join of the raffia is centred at the back of the shoe.

Step 4.  For a finishing touch I threaded the sneakers with the black laces from the old shoes I took the soles from. You could use any colour laces – neon would be fun!

And voila, your very own raffia embellished creepers!

Wearing: gifted J Brand Jeans, DIY raffia creepers, mens zara singlet (sorry boyfriend’s friend, you’re never getting it back), DIY gold pendant (tutorial to come!), Ebay Cat Eye sunglasses, studded pouch bag.

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Wonderful Zipper Bag Idea – DIY

In creating this lovely purse that is woven out of zippers, the bags that are often seen in the airport gift shops were the  main point of inspiration. You can make your own using the colors shown or any combination that works best for your outfits.

You will need:
– zippers in different colors;
– glue;
– pins;
– scissors.

First, on a flat surface, lay out and weave the zippers according to the images shown. Get the sides of the zippers together and secure them temporarily by pinning them. Starting from the bottom corner, glue the ends of all the zippers making sure you maintain a consistent pattern of the woven by trimming off the ends. When the bottom part is woven and glued you can take off the pins and trim the end of each zipper, weave in the ends on the top and the raw edges under a vertical zipper. Next, wrap the top ends of the vertical zipper’s margins over the top horizontal zipper and glue. Afterwards, take two zippers, cut them about 10” and glue them to the underneath top edge of the tote. To finish the bag, cover up all raw ends by taking any left scraps of zippers and glue them to the zippers around the inside guideline of the tote. Have fun!

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DIY Bag: Alexander Wang The Kirsten Tote

I know this may come as ‘last season’ (this bag was coveted in the 2011 spring) but I was thinking of adapting it for a DIY bag project.

What if I took any of the tote bags I’ve stacked in the dark depths of my wardrobe’s ‘forgotten’ aisle and attached some skinny belts to it? I could even try some multicolored, multitextured ones. Wouldn’t it be fun?
{this is Alexander Wang The Kirsten Tote, images via 1, 2}

Actually, here’s a simple diy demonstration I put together to illustrate how you can obtain an equally gorgeous strapped suede tote bag as Alexander Wang’s Kirsten Tote for just a fraction of the price!

…which was around $1,000, biensur!

I love Wang and the spawning of his fashion talent, but each and every DIY project I manage to craft in the likeness of great designs makes my heart sing. It is, by no means, an offending gesture but a huge thank you for inspiration and a special homage to the original creations I could most certainly never afford.

Long story short: in order to make the Alexander Wang Kirsten tote lookalike you’ll need:
{1} a suede tote from Zara ($160)
{2} 6 or more skinny belts (I found some on Amazon for $6.75 each, so $40.5 for 6, you can buy themhere)
{3} glue gun, scissors

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