Faith in the local product shown by retailers, who organised the contest

Press, 15 October 1985, Page 15

Faith in the local product shown by retailers, who organised the contest

When it comes to making shoes, New Zealand can "foot it” with the rest of the world — according to the people who sell the shoes. They have shown their faith in the home-grown product by instigating the first ever New Zealand Shoe of the Year contest. Manufacturers from all over New Zealand have sub-

mitted close to 150 entries in seven categories of men’s and women’s fashion and casual shoes. These will be judged early in November by the mayor of Auckland, Dame Catherine Tizard; shoe designer turned television gourmet, David Halls; and the editor of the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly,

Michael McKay. The winners will be announced in Auckland on November 7 at the Shoe of the Year awards dinner, which will be a highlight of Footwear Fair ’B5, the biennial trade fair of the New Zealand Footwear Manufacturers’ Federation. The Shoe of the Year organisers, representatives

of the New Zealand Footwear Retailers’ Federation, have laid down strict judging criteria that take into account not only looks and design but also construction, fit and pricing. The federation chairman, Mr Shaun Grace, says, “It must be a shoe that you would wear, a shoe that is abreast of fashion, and one that gives value for money — not just something tizzy.”

Shoes entered must be for sale in shops at the time of judging, and must be acceptable to the public — not just designers’ flights of fancy.

Mr Grace, himself a New Plymouth shoe retailer, believes that the contest will help show the buying public that New Zealand shoes are as good as — if not better than — shoes from anywhere else in the world, and will tend to make people more aware of shoes as an important part of their

wardrobe. “We want to put shoes first,” says Mr Grace, who

believes many people let their grooming down by not paying enough attention to their footwear. “They spend a lot of money on a new outfit, and then go home and search through the wardrobe for an old pair of shoes they can wear with it.” Not surprisingly, Mr Grace is keen to see better dressed feet around, and he is inviting the public to see the cream of New Zealand shoes — the Shoe of the

Year entries — on display in shoe stores throughout the country during this month. People visiting participating stores also have a chance to win a trip for two to Sydney. The man who dreamed up the Shoe of the Year contest, an Auckland retailer, Mr John Owens, is delighted at the standard of entries, and hopes the competition will become an annual event.