At Rag & Bone’s Soho Opening: Sienna Miller And…Walkable Shoes?

There was plenty to take in at last night’s opening party for Rag & Bone’s new store on Mercer Street. For starters, the petite blond in tiny gray flannel shorts chatting with designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville proved to be Sienna Miller. And no, readers of The New York Times, she’s not dating either. Actually, Neville’s wife, Gucci Westman, was in on the chitchat as she bounced their young son Dashel. Hung on the walls were blow-ups of Joseph Holmes’ photographs, which depict Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe-esque workspaces, inviting some self-congratulation on the clutter of one’s own workspace. (The store will in fact have a rotating selection of photography. Next up: Mark Borthwick.) In contrast, the record collection stacked behind the bar invited reflection on the relative suckiness of one’s own vinyl cache.

Eventually, however, the eye alighted on a current fashion rarity—comfortable shoes. Sneakers! Pancake-flat lace-up boots! Something best described as the love child of Dr. Martens and mukluks! Has the reign of the skyscraper platform come to an end? “We’ve been doing really well with the shoes,” said Wainwright, picking up a pair of cone-heel ankle boots that are reportedly blowing out. “This is about three inches,” he said. “Which isn’t so bad. Walkable.” Not that Rag & Bone has shied away from introducing a few nosebleed high pairs to its expanded collection of shoes for Spring 2010. “We’ve got a few four-inchers,” he admitted. The heel is dead, long live the heel.