Annika Benitz along with a packed audience witnessed her maternity wear walk down the runway on May 7, 2011. The venue for Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Senior Collection Fashion Show, Voltage 2011, was held in the open-air Power Station in South Boston. The exposed brick paired nicely with the warmth of the flooding light from the runway. It was thrilling to see everyone’s hard work and care for their collections over the past year. Below is an opportunity to see what came before Annika’s vibrant solutions to shoes from DesignerShoes.com for the expectant mother, as well as the final results!

Before Photos

Clockwise from top left: Meredith by Diane Lynn, Honey by Touch Ups, Meredith by Diane Lynn, Shannon by Special Occasions, and Venus by Touch Ups.

Photo by James Mason

Katey uses a full spectrum of color in her designs, adding to her concept of the seasons for her maternity collection.

Photo by James Mason

The traditional and gathered bows add the finishing touches to these hand painted shoes. The green-stenciled flowers of the Venus shoe create a lace overlay effect. This enhances the original satin fabric, which peeks through the unpainted spaces with brilliant shine. The details and color combinations pull every style together.

Katey Reim’s final designs for the collaboration of DesignerShoes.com and Massachusetts College of Art and Design are finally here! Katey’s hard work and efforts will be on display at the MassArt Senior Collection Exhibit at 5:00pm on Wednesday, May 18th.

Here are the before pictures to show a comparison of the starting point to the bold and colorful designs Katey has come up with. Katey mentioned earlier that her end result is nothing like how she envisioned. This was about the journey, learning about what was possible for the design, and finding what worked best in approaching the shoes. It is hard to believe that these are even the same shoes. Katey has taken shoes that are essentially blank canvases and transformed them into one-of-a-kind creations. She uses an effective blend of wrapped fabrics, nail heads, and hand painted elements to achieve her goals.

Before Photos

Clockwise from top left: Sharmain by Touch Ups in white, Sharmain by Touch Ups in black, Gwen by Special Occasions, Emmy by Special Occasions, and Alberta by Dyeables.

Photo by James Mason

Katey decided to remove the strap and heel of the Emmy shoe (featured in the middle), and converted it to a high-heeled slide instead.

Photo by James Mason

It is definitely the attention to detail that pulls all of her designs together. The nail heads offer a subdued and antique quality. The careful layering of the fabrics creates a piping effect that really pops, and adds another dimension to the shoe itself. Her designs strengthen the idea of “wearable art.”