This season's new height (or lack thereof) started at Haider Ackermann's S/S12 show. It's not often that the word 'trend' and 'Haider Ackermann' are used in the same sentence, for he's amongst the rare breed of designs so attune to his own vision that tapping into any big trend is never more than a mere coincidence. Nevertheless, the backless brogues that he showed alongside his low slung masculine trousers last season has had a serious ripple effect. The fact that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have rarely been spotted without them is a pretty good indicator too.

Don't get me wrong, flats aren't anything new. I mean, what woman doesn't own a ballet flat or three but these styles are different. The feeling is far from conservative and is definitively not only the preserve of women who work in the city or want to be 'taken seriously'. Just like the clothes for fall, it seems that designers are becoming more attune to what women actually need, as opposed to simply pumping out killer heel after killer heel as has been too often been the case. With the world out there being tough enough right, being held back by your shoes of all things doesn't make sense anymore.

While I've always been a sucker to heels - I blame Victoria Beckham's book 'That Extra Half Inch - the idea of a good pair of flats has been growing on me. What with the shows just around the corner, the need to find something practical that takes me from shows to appointments and the odd event or two has become my mission and thankfully, there's a lot of good styles out there. Christian Louboutin, who has been one of the major influencers of the ever increasing height of heels, has even succumbed to the charm of the flat offering a really fun, quirky pair in tartan with studded black toe caps. Charlotte Olympia's kitty loafers have persuaded even the most die hard heels fans to go low and even Chloé have created a great fringed pair that are the perfect nod to this season's masculine feel. My style of choice? A pair of gold chunky brogues from Marni that will I know I'll wear to death.

As the above names show, everyone is doing it and it isn't just the big labels either. ASOS probably have the best selection around from the more classic ballet flat styles to cool loafers and timeless brogues.

Are you convinced?

SHOP THE EDIT: 1. Tartan loafers, £545, Christian Louboutin at Net-A-Porter; 2. Fringed loafers, £505, Chloe at Net-A-Porter; 3. Glitter loafers, £295, Jimmy Choo at Net-A-Porter; 4. Velvet covered leather loafers, £420, Miu Miu at Net-A-Porter; 5. Metallic leather brogues, £370, Marni at Net-A-Porter; 6. Leather and velevt creepers, £310, McQ at Net-A-Porter; 7. Loafer shoes, £38, ASOS;  8. Tassled loafers, £110, Bass Washington at ASOS

See more after the jump

Since Net-A-Porter launched The Outnet, it's now hard to imagine a time when it didn't exist. The days where your favourite brands were inaccessible if you didn't have deep pockets are long. This week new e-commerce website, Covetique, launched with exactly that in mind.

The premise of the site isn't new. Sellers are able to upload their pre-owned designer pieces online in an easy, hassle-free way. What is different about Covetique, though, is the extensive range of designers on offer. The site includes great clothes from brands like Burberry, Isabel Marant, Louis Vuitton and Alexander Wang and accessories from the likes of Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. Unlike similar sites, the prices are incredibly low with tops from Isabel Marant coming in at only £100 and Jimmy Choo sandals being sold for £130.  To celebrate the launch, Covetique have also teamed up with a number of key industry figures to guest edit the site and showcase their favourite pieces and first up this month is Louise Roe.

Read more after the jump the jump

Tamara Mellon's departure from Jimmy Choo was only made public on Monday but already, more information about her alleged new brand are circulating. Though many believed that a lifestyle brand was definitely on the cards for the future, WWD report that Mellon's venture is already well under way with funding said to already be in place.

While the fate of Jimmy Choo without her is unclear, the real question is whether she will be able to bring something new and distinct from Choo in what is becoming an increasingly comeptitive market.

What do you think?

Changes were expected to happen at Jimmy Choo in the wake of the news last May that the brand was being acquired by Labelux but this morning the extent to those changes have left us all supervised. Choo founder and chief creative officer Tamara Mellon has confirmed that she is leaving the company despite planning to stay on after the acquisition in a creative consultancy role.

And she's not the only person leaving. WWD have confirmed that CEO Joshua Shulman is following her but he has made it clear that his decision to leave is independent of Mellon. “We’re not going off together [to pursue a new project],” he told WWD. Mellon hasn't confirmed her reason for leaving but Footwear News expects her to set up her own brand.

This year marks the brand's 15th anniversary and with Mellon and Shulman's exist, the anniversary marks the beginning of a new era at Choo. Whether that will work for the better is still unclear.

Tamara Mellon has everything to smile about. Last November saw her awarded an OBE for her contribution to the fashion industry and this week Mellon is said to have walked away with millions after Jimmy Choo was sold two months after seeking offers.

Labelux, a luxury Germany company who already owns Bally and Derek Lam, bought the brand for an estimated £500million ($811million) which is a fraction lower from the £549million ($889.4million) that the brand was initially estimated to be worth.

“Jimmy Choo is a perfect fit for us, and we see ourselves as long-term strategic investors,” Reinhard Mieck, CEO of Labelux, explained. “Joshua, Tamara and the management are going to need to deal with us for a very long time. We are thinking about strategies today that will take us beyond this generation to the one after that." The luxury group are already planning to expand the brand in China and Asia.

Cindy Crawford goes pantsless for Vogue Mexico [Huff Po]

And here's Michelle Williams' Interview magazine cover [Fashin]

Gwyneth Paltrow is now the face of Coach [The Cut]

J.Crew's owners could possibly buy Jimmy Choo [WSJ]

Celine is opening flagships in New York and Paris [WWD]

Jimmy Choo previously made it clear that he wanted to buy back his namesake label, with which he previously cut ties in 2001, after having a falling out with co-founder and chief creative officer Tamara Mellon. Now, it's been reported that he's no longer in the running to buy out the equity group TowerBrook Capital's shares of the brand. Still up for that stake, though? LVMH. Selling price is expected to be $653 million to $817 million, more than double what TowerBrook paid just four years prior.