Now, about those shoes ...
Hideous, hilarious, infuriating, luxurious, ballet pointe shoes, bound feet, fetish stilettos, the thrill and danger of tottering on a 10” ‘comma’ heel. Those are just some of the swirling thoughts I’ve had at the sight of Alexander McQueen’s Armadillo Shoe.
Of course, there is ridiculousness in every fashion season that can be easily dismissed—which is why I was very aware of not being able to ignore the “claw” shoes. I couldn’t not look at them. They were blowing my mind.
These weren’t mere “art objects,” which are safely contained within a gallery or a museum. These walked, and were threatening to invade our closets! What’s worse, I have found myself starting to warm up to them. I can’t say I would like to walk in them, but I think, if I were sitting behind a desk, with my feet up, it would be a blast to have them on.
After the shoes debuted in October, 2009, New York Magazines’s, The Cut described them as “hooflike monsters,” and solicited reader takes on them…
“bull terrier heads”
“alien-cyborg ballerinas”
“like walking on clouds and needles”
“Awesome sparkly anteater faces for the feet.”
“the shoe probably weighs more than the model”
“Is this what people felt like when Picasso unveiled Guernica???”
McQueen may have messed quite a bit with fashion, but he really messed with our heads. I, for one, am truly thankful for that.
See the video of the October runway here.
