Statement Shoes – Heel Art 2008
The Women's Footwear Trend in Embellished Heels & Shoe Ornamentation
The hottest element of the statement shoe has been the new trend in wearing art on your feet, ranging from the beautiful to the ugly to the downright insane.
The last few seasons has seen the emergence of the “statement shoe.” A shoe to rival the “it” bag and which screams Look at me now!
Without one particular official term, the trend in embellished heels has been referred to as heel art, heel ornamentation or “modified heels” as coined by Paul of Theshoegoddess.net.
This season 's women's footwear sees decorated heels with embroidery, petals, bells, crystals and flowers. Then there is the revolution in heel modification itself, taking designer heels to a new level with cut-out heels, reverse heels, and the use of the heel as a pillar for new architectural designs.
Heel Art – Embellished heels
From flowers and petals to bells, studs and gems, heels are taking center stage with feminine designs such as Mui Mui's floral carved wooden sandals, or Mui Mui's dressier aged-leather Swarovski crystal embellished sandal with front corsage.
Muicca Prada has come into her own this year both with her Mui Mui designs and mainstream Prada. The Prada Floral Wave Pump and similarly styled single-strap Prada Vernice Velluto follow the same flower heel construction.
A new arrival is the Miu Miu "teacup Mary-Jane" pump, in red or black, just perfect for afternoon tea at the Ritz. This sandal grows on you, as Florence Azria from the Shoe Goddess attests, “I think they are kind of cute, well funky but interesting. At least they will be make a statement anywhere you'll wear them."
If you prefer something a little more chic then Dior’s embroidered platform sandal with embroidery detail on the heel and platform and a dangling silver charm will work miracles with a little black dress.
A Revolution in Heel Design
Last season saw the New York fashion runways thrown into a frenzy with the creation of the backwards (or reverse) heel. Discarding any conventional notions of heels, and pushing the boundaries of shoe design, these heels protrude from the ball of the foot. Coined the misplaced heel, the Marc Jacobs offering from its Spring collection 2008 of surrealist influenced shoes, has been greeted with enthusiasm. Net-a-porter.com says “these fantastic shoes, with their heel at the arch of the soles, are elegant and whimsical.” Japanese designer Y-3's "Phasma 90 Stretch" Wedge is an ankle boot version.
For a less revolutionary design but still mildly insane, Prada’s Fall 2008 collection has a distinctly fishy feel with its “Man from Atlantis” fin style heel. Part of Mui Mui’s Ready-to-wear Fall 2008 range includes a heel in the design of a horses tail, whilst Chanel features some metallic bridge heels (literally), inspired by San Francisco’s Golden Gate.
However, for the most bizarre shoe construction award, it's hard to beat Jil Sander's Reverse Heel Flat, which actually has the heel placed on top of the sole rather than beneath it. Can shoe designers get any wackier?
This season’s designer surreal heels have a Dali-esque feel about them. Chunky heels are perfect with simple smock dresses or skinny jeans, as long as you don’t hide the heel. The more elegant and ornate will liven up a solid block-color dress from evening. Dress up a little black dress with some embellished look-at-me heels, and let them do the talking.
Images courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue.
