Nicholas Kirkwood Gives Rodarte a Lift

If there’s one thing that you can predict from a Rodarte show, it’s a statement shoe each season by Nicholas Kirkwood. The expert heel maker, known for his artfully crafted, avant-garde confections–and a fan club that includes Grace Jones and Daphne Guinness–has put together a collection of sturdy-yet-studied footwear for the California sisters’ Spring/Summer 2011 show. His signature craftsmanship comes out in carved tree-trunk heels, embossed leather, and luminescent straps, all set against fancifully painted silk uppers. Stealing the show just may be his cut-out, taupe-toned heel, stocked up high on a frontward wooden wedge and a pebbled gold backing.