We present you a promising new English brand – Lost Souls. They offer a variety of styles – boot, low top lace-up and slip-on. They comes with a vulcanised sole and toe cap, while the upper is made from canvas and has a cotton lace. The style is unique and very distinctive. All three styles are now available in white, red and navy blue at Oki-Ni.

The BPMW team that successfully re-focused menswear with their (capsule) shows are now setting their eyes on doing the same for footwear.

COMPASS: A New Direction is scheduled for July 28th and 29th in Las Vegas. Citing that “the footwear industry is dying for a change,” BPMW hopes to states that “Shoes are no longer just an accessory, they’re a culture. With all the lifestyle, the collectors and new collaborations infusing footwear with a new energy, it’s pretty evident that the industry isn’t what it used to be. Things are different and we’re about to prove it.”

Though the COMPASS brandlist is not yet finalizes, we expect more than 40 brands to participate. It looks like we’ll be adding another show to our normal coverage roster.

We present you the Clae Spring 2008 collection. The brand relaunched last season and it could not have hit a better timing. In a time where the big corporate sneaker companies want to beat each other with crazy colorways and materials as well as constant collaborations, Clae comes along and presents strong footwear and concentrates on the essential.

The Spring 2008 collection consists of overall 10 styles. Premium leathers and smart accents with the stitching and panels make Clae stand out. Smart is the first word that comes to mind when looking at the brand – they show us that good footwear does not need patent leather, crazy graphics, wild patterns or several brands to be involved. That’s maybe not new, but refreshing in these times. Via Highsnobiety.

After the jump we present you the complete Clae Spring 2008 line-up. Each shoe of course comes in several colorways.

Vael Project is an interesting new player in the footwear market and presents its first collection now. Boots, boat shoes, hi-top sneakers and other styles can be found in this high-quality footwear collection, which targets a more mature market that appreciates quality. Besides their footwear, we are really excited about the backpack that is presented and hopefully we’ll see a lot more in that direction as well. Via Jeff Staple.

Certainly a brand to keep an eye on. Check out some more styles of Vael after the jump.

Italian born and Gucci owned, Bottega Veneta, has opened it online store to the US market. Its a pleasing move by them as it allows for a new consumer group to access their day to day goods.

Have no fear, fashion purists, Bottega Veneta is limiting the online store to their staple luggage, bags, shoes, and accessories at this time.

Its a changing global market for all things luxury.

Visit their USA online store at: www.bottegaveneta.com

Visvim has released the first shoe out of their new Folk Series – the FBT Lhamo Folk. In this first drop the shoe comes in dark brown, light brown, beige and khaki with small decorative details on the toe box. Now available at Shaft.

More pictures after the jump.

Recently we showed you the Visvim Jokhang collection, consisting of the FBT and the Christo. Now we give you a preview of other styles of the Visvim Spring/Summer 2008 footwear collection, that will be releasing over the next couple of months.

The S/S ‘08 collection has several themes. There is a Mayan theme, which comes on the Christo and the Kiefer Hi. The Patala theme comes also on the Kiefer Hi, featuring a zipper on the upper, in several colors. Furthermore Visvim introduces the Logan Deck Lo, a basic sneaker taking its inspiration from the Vans Era. We also show you the Logan Lo CVS and the Lama Sandal from the Folk collection. Pics via HK Anytime.

The Maya pack you can see above, all the other styles after the jump.

Pierre Hardy presents a set of new futuristic sneakers. Entitled Colorama, the hi-top sneakers come with an multicolor design. They are available now at the Pierre Hardy store in Paris, Dover Street Market in London, Isetan in Tokyo and Barneys New York. Via Hintmag.

Commemorating the Y-3 store opening in Manhattan this week, the brand released the “Nice To Meet You” sneaker, that comes in black leather/denim on the upper, proclaiming its love for the big city on the tongue and the inner sole. Via Coolhunting.

Y-3

317 West 13th Street

New York, NY 1001

More pictures after the jump.

It looks like A.P.C. collaborated with Vans on an all white Sk8 Hi as part of their Spring/Summer 2008 collection. The sneakers are not in stores yet, but keep your eyes open. Via Dejour Magazine.