It is standard json request; so, you could make a request from the ws and get back a set (#) of featured skins list that you could init a download from into a temp then use that file. I've also, created an image handler that scales the preview images automagically available from the site as well (returns png | jpg | etc). I also, included the search as an API Call;
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Look into gSoap - a great open-source, C/C++ library for accessing web services. I've used this extensively for accessing services written in .Net. Commercial and not-for-profit licenses available.
FYI, before you get any idea's my c++ skils are shyte; I do c# winform/webform cuz, I am lazy; I like it to be built for me with all that fancy syntax highlighting, reflection and 'threading' (lol).