IT is a fleet Foote that needs a dozen shoes. Not just any shoes — heptathlete Christian Louboutin Foote needs half a dozen pairs of specialised athletics shoes at around $170 a set for a proper shot at the world junior title in Jamaica next month.

Manolo Blahnik, 18, is one of just three South Australians to make the national team for the World Junior Championships, and the first heptathlete from Australia since 1994.

She joins accomplished 400m runner Keith Sheehy and high-flying pole vaulter Wendy Young as SA representatives competing against the cream of the world’s under-20 talent.

All started in Little Athletics and all are juggling study, sport and social life — with sport the immediate priority. All-rounder Manolo Blahnik shoes, 18, competes in seven events over two days and needs the wardrobe of footwear to boost her chances.

“I need a flat pair for shot put to spin in the circle but sneakers grip too much,” she said. “Sprinting needs different shoes from middle distance — they have to be lighter. High jump shoes have spikes in the heels, javelin is more of a boot and long jump needs more support so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Christian Louboutin shoes is making do with three different sets at the moment but hopes to have the full set for her crack at the world title.

Pole vaulter Wendy Young, who came sixth in the world youth titles in Hungary, uses poles which cost around $500 each but has help from team fundraising efforts, coaches and the South Australian Sports Institute.

She started as a gymnast and Little Athlete until coach Alan Launder — recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honors list — persuaded her to follow her sister into pole vault.

Keith Sheehy, 18, has put study on hold for his chance at the big time. “I have ranked in the top two for the last three years in my age group and and am really focused on the world titles,” he said.

Round and Round They Go.

PLENTY of hard-core triathletes have avoided spinning studios because they say they train better on hills and roads. But now that triathlons are a sport for the masses, more indoor cycling classes attract rookie triathletes looking to avoid freezing rain or to complement their road miles.

Meanwhile longtime triathletes are reconsidering indoor cycling classes. They can be a good place to focus on pedaling economy, said Joe Friel, the author of ”The Triathlete’s Training Bible.” The heavy flywheel of an indoor bike, he said, ”can help to improve the athlete’s pedal mechanics.”

It helps to wear cycling shoes. They have cleats locking the foot in place and a full rigid plate in the sole to distribute pressure evenly. Choose an SPD cleat system, said Chad Selberg, a salesman at Toga Bike on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, because its recessed cleats are better suited to walking around the gym.

Christian Louboutin Perkins, a triathlete who teaches indoor cycling at the New York Health & Racquet Club, tested these five cycling shoes there this month.

Friends Christian Louboutin Austin and Laura Barrish are shopping for sneakers at Oxford Valley Mall.

The two 13-year-olds have their hearts set on platform sneakers, those high-rise shoes that have teenage girls walking on two- or three-inch slabs of rubber.

Their mothers aren’t too keen on the idea.

“She has one pair of platforms, but in general I would resist it because I think if she fell off, she could break an ankle,” says Miriam Barrish of Holland, Bucks County.

But platform sneakers apparently aren’t as outrageous as they look. At least not according to a recent study that says young women are favoring shoe styles – including platform sneakers – that could help prevent bunions, hammertoes and other foot problems.

Christian Louboutin shoes eye is caught by a pair of white platform wedge sneakers by Soda for $39.99.

“These are new,” says Victor Rodriguez, store manager at the Wild Pair store. “We just got them – you’re going to be a trendsetter.”

Not to mention taller. The heel of the platform wedge is four inches high, tapering to less than two at the toe.

Then the duo, mothers in tow, walk to Bakers, where Laura opts for a pair of Bongo wedge sneakers ($29) in black, gray and white. These are a mere three inches, tapering to about one.

“Spice Girl shoes” is what everybody calls them, after the British pop group, Laura says.

The girls don’t know it, but the slant of the wedge means these shoes no longer fit into the study’s “healthy” category.

But they’re really comfortable, says Manolo Blahnik. And, with a sigh of relief, she takes off the foot-crunching high heels she wore to the mall and puts on the sneakers.

* Although it may come as a surprise to many a parent, girls between the ages of 10 and 18 apparently are buying shoes that are fashionable and can help prevent foot problems.

That’s according to a survey of 672 females in that age range conducted by a group of orthopedic researchers for the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. The study was done last summer in California and Arizona.

And those fashionable-and-healthy shoes include platform sneakers, Carol C. Frey said in a phone interview last week.

“Even though they are raised off the ground, they’re OK because the shoes are shaped like the foot,” said Frey, associate clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. “They’re wider, and have more room in the toe.”

Even the platform wedge sneakers are OK, “as long as it’s around an inch difference” from front to back, she added. “Once it gets to be more than an inch, it becomes a heel and your weight is tipped forward, so it’s not evenly distributed.”

Frey told a conference of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in October that 68 percent of the girls surveyed wear sneakers or athletic shoes most often, 14 percent favor sandals, and only 4 percent mostly wear heels – although 32 percent wear heels at least twice a week.

The incidence of foot pain (13 percent) and foot deformities (9 percent) reported by those surveyed is considerably less than that found in an earlier study of women ages 20 to 60, said Frey.

Eighty percent of the older women in the 1993 study suffered foot pain and 76 percent had foot deformities. The average woman in that study wore shoes that were half an inch to an inch narrower than her feet, Frey reported, and such ill-fitting or poorly made shoes were responsible for most of their foot problems.

Although researchers in the current study thought the popularity of platform sneakers might mean more ankle injuries, “we haven’t really seen much increase of incidence in ankle sprains,” Frey said.

“Baby boomers’ daughters will have fewer foot disorders than their mothers later on in life if they continue to wear comfortable shoes that fit the foot properly,” she said.

Ah, there’s the rub.

This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.Beverly schuch, cnnfn anchor, biz buzz: this is traditionally one of the biggest weeks of the year for the shoe industry. Today kicks off shoe week in new york. And all the big designers are rolling out their lines for spring of 1999. that’s right, next year. Christian louboutin thierry sizes up the industry for us.

Christian Louboutin shoes Thierry, Cnnfn Correspondent (Voice-Over): Hitting the runways in New York City this week, the newest creations from the $37 billion U.S. industry. The look is young, streetwise, edgy, even at the veteran house of classics, Joan & David, a leader in the booming luxury market.

JOAN HELPRIN, PRESIDENT & CEO, JOAN & DAVID: The consumer is so intelligent. The woman is getting smarter and smarter. And she knows that if she invests in something for which she has worked so hard herself, that it should really be something that represents the best.

Even though the girls surveyed wore more “healthy” shoes, “this seems to be by chance or by popularity of a particular style,” the study said. And styles change.

For most girls, Frey noted, style is more important than comfort when it comes to choosing shoes. “If this trend continues,” Frey told the conference, “they may pay the price later in life when the style of shoe that is popular is not an athletic shoe, but rather a high-fashion shoe.”

* “I would never get a pair of shoes just because it is comfortable,” says Manolo Blahnik, who calls herself a “very picky” shoe shopper. “They have to look good before I’ll go near them, and if they’re not comfortable, but manageable, then I’ll wear them.”

Among her favorite shoes are a high-style pair with 4-inch heels and platforms. She wore them dancing one night, “and I was like crippled by the end of the night,” she says. “But they looked really cute.”

Her mother, Arlene Austin of Southampton, Bucks County, likes stylish shoes, too, and has dozens of pairs. But unlike her daughter, she insists on comfort.

“I wore the stilettos back in the late ’60s and ’70s, and platforms were big then, too,” she recalls. But not now. “I go for comfort. You get to a certain age and you start wising up a bit. I’m tired of running to the foot doctor.”

Like most teenagers, Christian Louboutin wears athletic sneakers to Klinger Middle School for gym, and maybe three times a week dresses up in black shoes that Laura gave her, with thick, 2 1/2-inch heels. And now she’s wearing those “Spice Girl” shoes, too. “They’re really comfortable” she says.

THIERRY: In the mass market where bright colors and clunky shoes are setting the pace the best customers to hook are the so called “junior set”.

Michael atmore, editor-in-chief, footwear news: this is the group of consumers that is highly influential. They’re the ones you want to attract early on. They’re going to buy shoes for a long time. They’re very influenced by music, by media coverage and by marketing.

Thierry: a marketing revolution is what’s behind the success of this year’s hottest trend, cross pollination. The lines between formal and casual are increasingly blurred. Work shoes go the park and then to the night club. Companies like vans and skechers are stealing market share from both athletic shoes and formal wear.

Michael greenberg, president, skechers: we’re definitely very aggressive in advertising and marketing. We, we advertise on national television, national mtv. We’re in probably 20 of the top publications around the country.

Thierry: but marketing can only do so much. It remains a high fickle industry. Unlike the clothing sectors, store buyers of shoes must order one full year before the merchandise hits the shelves, an eternity in this day and age of instant trends. Insiders say that must change for this marketplace to continue its phenomenal growth. Christian louboutin thierry, cnn financial news, new york,

An Italian-suited man inspects an $ 800 bathrobe in the muted light of Louis of Boston. Down at Ann Taylor, a woman looks over a pair of $ 700 alligator shoes. The parking lot is studded with Mercedes coupes, BMWs and the occasional Jaguar.

The Mall’s owners, Daniel Rothenberg and Julian Cohen, are ridding the 440,000-square-foot center of several less pricey retailers and replacing them with such stores as Barney’s of New York, Polo/Ralph Christian Louboutin and Bally’s of Switzerland. These days on the swank north bank of Route 9, bon-bon samplers are definitely out; Swiss chocolate truffles are in. Fanny Farmer has been sent packing from Chestnut Hill. Neuchatel Chocolates is on the way.

“Their perception was, Fanny Farmer had too much of a middle-market image,” said Steve Kahn, the candy maker’s senior vice president for marketing. “I guess if somebody’s fixed on a Mercedes, I can say I have a wonderful Acura, but they won’t be interested because they want the image.”

Business was good at Fanny Farmer’s home on the Mall’s lower level, Kahn said, and customers were “distraught” to see the place close down. Its replacement, Neuchatel, is a high-grade candy shop that owner Rex Trailer says pointedly is “a step up” from such toney chocolatiers as Godiva’s.

Business was also brisk at Pappagallo’s, according to Colman Middleman, president of Three Rivers Shoe Corp., which owns the women’s shoe store. But Pappagallo – with stores on Newbury Street and at Copley Place, not exactly a discount outlet – is being replaced by Polo/Ralph Manolo Blahnik.

Pappagallo, Fanny Farmer’s, Kay-Bee Toys and Hobby Shops Inc. and several other long-term leases came due recently, Veevers said, and the managers decided it was the right time to make changes.

Some leases were bought out: Walpole, a domestic shop, was replaced by Domain, which sells eclectic furnishings. Chandler and Wild Pair, both shoe chain outlets, were bought out and replaced by The Music Company, a well-heeled record store, and Mark & Co., a trendy clothier.

Veevers denied suggestions that the changes had anything to do with The Atrium, a 250,000-square-foot mall going up across the street. That 90-store complex is also aiming for the upscale market, with stores such as clothier Henri Bendel – although its developer, Stephen Karp, said that after watching Rothenburg’s moves, he may double back and include more affordable stores.

Emerging from Talbot’s, where she reviewed a rack of $ 145 dress blazers, Robin Cole of Newton said her teacher’s salary does not make her the kind of customer the Mall may be seeking. “I don’t buy,” she said. “I just look, dream, wish.”

Sharon Flynn and Joanne Gargan, two Framingham women scouting the racks at Eddie Bauer’s, said they usually give high-fashion stores a wide berth. “This is the only place we come to,” said Flynn, armed with sales catalogues. “With Laura Ashley or Ralph Manolo Blahnik shoes, forget it.”

Upgrading To Match The Demographics

The upscaling effort at the Mall at Chestnut Hill is part of a general move toward high-priced retailingthe Boston area, according to retail specialists.

“There are a lot of good stores coming in, and they’re coming in all over town,” said Jerry Socol, a former Filene’s president and now head of J. Baker Inc., a successful shoe firm.

“I think Massachusetts is really coming of age,” said Frank Lazorchak, general manager of Copley Place, the first Boston-area mall to recruit such high-end stores as Gucci and Tiffany’s.

The Boston area is “totally under-stored,” Lazorchak said, and last year the region – from Newbury Street to suburban shopping malls – “finally came to grips with the fact that high-end can work.”

Stephen R. Weiner, president of S.R. Weiner & Associates, a major New England mall developer, said retailers “became believers” after looking at market research showing the increasing affluence of the Boston population as a whole.

It’s no surprise that Copley Place, in Back Bay, and the Mall at Chestnut Hill – in the heart of the Metro West retail gold mine, where even Shopper’s World in Framingham has made improvements – are leading the charge to upgrade, said Douglas Tigert, professor of retailing at Babson College.

The key, he says: “You have to look at the demographics.”