Christian Dior said that if you want to identify the true elegant woman, you must first look at her shoes. Fashion has made footwear something more than a practical accessory, it has exalted it as a symbol of social status and given it forms that defy the laws of physics, in part, to demonstrate that its manufacture and artisanal process is an art in itself.
The search for elegance through dizzying classic stilettos has given way this season to an impractical, but much more fun, obsession: it seems that the great luxury brands, such as Loewe, Jacquemus or Jimmy Choo, have embarked in a war to see who invents the most extravagant and seemingly impossible heel on which a 1.80m model can walk the catwalk without falling.
It was in 2016 when brothers Demna and Guram Gvasalia lit the fuse of the extreme trend with the release at Vetements of a sustained black booty with a lighter. The genius or madness – in fashion they are often confused – of that footwear conquered the youngest luxury customer and turned the brand into one of the most popular and desired in the industry.
Later, the heel in the form of a highlighter would arrive in their storefronts, which managed to go viral, again without apparent effort, and soon after other brands, Marni, Dorateymur, Rejina Pyo or Miu Miu, joined the search of the impossible heel that reaches its peak this season.
Within the trend there are two distinct sides: that of architectural forms and that of surrealism. In the first there are the designs of firms such as Jacquemus, which through geometric and structural heels expands the codes of footwear design and reinvents the stiletto in its most classic form. Just a few weeks ago, the French designer presented a double kitten heel that has won the title of the most extravagant shoe of the spring/summer 2024 season.
But the second group that encompasses this trend is related to a much deeper conceptual exercise and delves into disciplines such as surrealist art through fashion design. This group is headed by dressmaker J.W. Anderson through his work at Loewe. The designer who has led the historic Spanish firm and has positioned it for several seasons as one of the great names in luxury plays with the idea of fragility through an element related to tension and the fact of bearing weight as is the case with the heel. So, on the catwalk, shoes as surreal as sandals with a heel in the shape of a flower, a candle or, for a very thin spin, a cracked egg have been paraded. On his catwalks, it has already become a tradition to carefully watch the passing of models in anticipation of Anderson's next great invention. The last one is in the shape of a make-up brush.
Loewe is joined by the queen of stilettos, Jimmy Choo, who for the autumn/winter 2023 collection was inspired by the shape of a drop of water to create dizzying and iconic stiletto heels.
Although this trend is not suitable for the streets, although some
