BEAUTY: Shoes--Miscellaneous Women's Footwear

I have never posted about women's fashion; only men's. But I must make an exception to post about the advancements--in engineering as well as style and imagination--of women's shoes. It seems that more and more designers are creating shoes that are not simply something pretty to go on feet. These are sculptures. These are statements of balance, geometry and craftsmanship.

We start with these incredible shoes from Balenciaga's current F/W '10-'11 collection. Designer for Balenciaga, Nicolas Ghesquière, says they were inspired by "Cosmonauts and seventies Formica. Packaging and food boxes. Synthetic foam and plywood. And a kind of rigidity." I think the cube heel, the color palette, the semi-precious minerals and the startling random shapes on the heel and sole make these shoes a work of art. They look like something Matthew Barney would make.

Next up are some shoes by the late--and very much missed--Alexander McQueen. Top left: his "Armadillo" or "hoof" shoe. Top right: his "Alien" shoe. Bottom left: a steam-punk shoe. Bottom right: inspired by traditional Japanese geta sandals.



John Galliano, who designs for Dior as well as his own house, made these amazing creations. The metallic raspberry "squiggle" shoe from S/S '09 is on the left and his "sleigh" shoe is on the right.


Now we come to an absolute feat of engineering: the cantilevered, heel-less platform boot by Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci.
And to celebrate it all, here is a humorous, Euro-retro-futuristic video for the sleek, electronic, funky song "Shoes" by Tiga.

"What's that sound?
I like that sound.
I love that sound."

"It's the sound of my shoes."

http://www.tiga.ca/