I have a bag. Like an ancient mariner it is old and worn and weary. Or rather, I know it is old, hence in my eyes it is worn and weary…

Let’s be super-duper ethical and NOT buy Dolce and Gabbana sandblasted jeans. In case you haven’t heard there is a movement, birthed by change.org and signed by more than 29,000 people from Europe and the USA, to ban the practice of sandblasting jeans. It’s dangerous! Let’s not lower the super-duper ethical benchmark that we expect of Dolce and Gabbana for ourselves but also apply that same standard to our daily lives, so — no more, no more, no more consumption of anything at all that entails any degree of danger to its makers.

In one of his rare interviews, Giorgio Armani divulged to Daniela Morera that given a choice and a time machine, he would like to be immersed in ancient Rome, where “I [G. Armani] would be someone with a very important role, if not an emperor”. Let’s play the jester to his emperor, just for good fun – we do respect King George, as he is known the fashion world, far too much to ridicule in earnest.

Unless you live in a land far, far, away, (ahem- an unplugged village in back of a mountain where only flies buzz), everyone has heard of or experienced the two most important recent events that have overtaken life presently: a) the economic crisis sweeping across Europe b) the loss of key funding for those precious jewels and cultural gems that make Europe beautiful, delightful, and the rest of the world refined.

You’ve read that right. He copies. And we love him for it. Roberto Cavalli is easily one of the most prominent, and gifted designers of our era. Yet in an exclusive interview to Vogue, the designer says: “I start to understand that XXX is really the best designer, so I started to copy XXX.” Who is the mysterious XXX? And how closely does Roberto Cavalli follow his Muse? Led by his inspiration, Cavalli’s creativity has produced a Fall/Winter 2011 collection that, to put simply, is to die for.

Think Prada. It stands for luxury beyond belief and ordinary wallets, for summers, jags and yachts, for demigods of silver screen, red carpets, espresso, and Italy itself – all in a shoe. At present Prada’s shoving such well-shod foot into its mouth. It’s interesting, yet painful to watch.

Santoni shoes are moving up in the world. They are sprouting heels, and the company is finally dressing the lucky feet of the world’s better gender. Fortunately, the women are getting the same hand-crafted royal treatment as men do. Unfortunately, Santoni’s typical client is still very much a man. When asked about the characteristics of a typical Santoni client, Guiseppe Santoni, Chief Executive of the Santoni Group replied: “We are talking about a man with very clear ideas and a distinct personality…

Art should provoke, ideally as much as Jimmy Choo’s Sloane evening slippers do. You might love them. You might hate them. What’s guaranteed is that you will not be left indifferent. Judging by the amount of press coverage they are generating, Sloane slippers from Jimmy Choo’s new men collection nail the ‘provoke’ prerequisite bang on…

The ability to infuse character into a pair of shoes is no laughing matter. Shoes are pieces as interesting as couture clothing, and if the devil wants the hottest in stock, he has appointed none other than Masaya Kuchino – a designer that’s surely twirled the MICAM’s this month just around his little fingers…