Many designers seek to create weird rather than comfortable footwear. They make shoes from horses’ hooves; they deprive shoes of their soles and print them out on the printer. In our review, 10 most unusual pairs of shoes from designers of the 20th and 21st centuries are given.
1. Salvatore Ferragamo “RAINBOW”, 1938
The RAINBOW sandals were created in 1938 by Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo for the American actress and singer Judy Garland.
Salvatore Ferragamo is the world-renowned Italian shoe designer, who was called “the king of shoemakers and the shoemaker of kings.” He created unique shoes for Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Andy Warhol and other celebrities. For the American actress and singer Judy Garland, the designer created the original RAINBOW model – the sandals with the upper part made of leather in the gold color and a rainbow-colored platform.
2. Vivienne Westwood, 1993
In 1993, Vivienne Westwood, who is called “the queen of avant-garde style” in the fashion world, presented bright blue shoes with a 10-centimeter platform and 23-inch heels. This shoe model is remembered around the world not only because of extremely high heels and the platform, but also due to Naomi Campbell’s fall during the designer’s fashion show.
3. Iris Schieferstein “Gun Hoofs”, 2009
These ankle boots by designer Iris Schieferstein are made of real horse’s hooves with the heels in the form of pistols.
4. Julian Hakes “Mojito”, 2009
The author of these unusual shoes without soles is architect Julian Hakes. Each “Mojito” shoe seems to twist a long ribbon around the foot, while the foot rests on the toe and heel. The designer says that the shoes not only look original, but are also very comfortable to wear. The cost of “Mojito” shoes reaches $200.
5. Kobi Levi “Double Boot”, 2010
In 2010, Kobi Levi created bilateral boots for Lady Gaga’s video to the song “Born this Way”; the heel of those boots looked the same way as the shoetree. The Israeli designer himself defines his crazy women’s shoes as a sculpture, created as a result of the alliance of fashion and art.
6. Chau Har Lee “Flat pack shoes”, 2011
These shoes are made of transparent acrylic by designer Har Lee Chau and resemble the furniture from “Ikea”. They are sold in a flat package, consist of six parts, and are disassembled and assembled without any fasteners.
7. Noritaka Tatehana “Crystal Lady Pointe”, 2011
Only scandalous singer Lady Gaga would probably dare to wear such inlaid crystal pointe, raising the woman to the height of 45 centimeters.
8. Andreia Chaves “Invisible Nakedversion”, 2011
Fashion designer Andreia Chaves from Brazil has created the original stealth shoes with the help of 3D-printing technology. The combination of unusual architectural shapes and the skin-colored leather basis creates a very interesting effect.
9. Yoriko Youda “Herring-shoes”, 2012
The shoes for fans of herring were created by Japanese designer Yoriko Youda.
10. Zaha Hadid for United Nude “Nova”, 2013
The outer part of this unusual footwear is made of chrome vinyl; the lining is made of calfskin, and the sole is of rubber. The dynamic shape and the original heel give the impression that these shoes come to us from the future. In fact, the today’s footwear, created by architects and printed on the 3D-printer, is popular and looks impressive.
