Saturday, June 14, 2008

Shoes Make My Life - Shoe Art

I got this forwarded email some time back that claimed to show, allegedly, Japanese women’s shoes. Most uncomfortable, as you can see. The problem is, these are no Japanese shoes, they are “fetish shoes”. Whatever little credibility the email forward would have expected was instantly lost when it claimed “foot binding” as a Japanese practice.



It seems that there are enough in the world obsessed with shoes. Take me, for instance. When I was growing up in Agra, my father was a legal advisor to a number of shoes designing and manufacturing units. So there was never a dearth of the most fashionable heels in the house. Even now, my heart beats for shoes, all kinds of shoes. So you can understand my excitement when it comes to the topic of shoes art. Not always wearable, it has many forms. Some artists use shoes as 3D canvases, creating art around them. One such artist is London based Jethro Haynes, who creates, among other things, sculptures from sneakers.


Jethro Haynes' Shoe Art

A lasting image in my head is of Elsa Schiaparelli’s Monkey Fur Shoes. Intriguingly grotesque, they reflect her quirky style, and yes, I would never, ever wear them!


Elsa Schiaparelli’s Shoes

When it comes to wearability, nothing beats the designs and colors of customsnkr.com I love their Marge sneakers.


Marge sneakers from customsnkr.com

But no one mixes quirky and wearable like maverick designer Manish Arora. He has created women’s shoe collection 'Fish Fry' for Reebok India. The collection has 12 designs made of stylist leather, suede and specialized fabric suitable to match with designer clothes for special occasion.


Manish Arora's stylish designs for Reebok

For a stylish foot forward, I love the designs of Toronto-based graffitist Matthieu Missaen. He handcrafts his shoes under the label Ndeur. His line includes soaring pumps and high-tops and are fashioned using a canvas of vintage leather footwear, on which he doodles street-art-inspired scenes with oil-based paints.


Matthieu Missaen helps women put a stylish foot forward

17 comments:

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

Wow, these are some seriously unique shoes.

Absolutely Fabulous said...

hi prati! ya you are so right, i got those "japanese shoes" email too and thought no way, those looked more like fetish shoes.
thanks for dropping by. see you again , my place or mine.

EvaAmarri said...

The shoes in image 1 remind me of a scene from Beyonce's video.

Pratishtha Durga said...

Ab-Fab: And this isn't the first of its kind. Several forwarded mails seek to defame a certain country or community, with false information. But unfortunately, there are enough gullible souls who jump at such comments.

Pratishtha Durga said...

Clothes horse: I like the graffitti shoes the best, actually. They'd do well with a plain-jane dress, making it sharp and special.

Fashion Ivy: Which video, Ivy? Am not a B fan, so I don't know which one. But would definitely check it on youtube.

Pratishtha Durga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
요리 said...

hi~ friend

me still unable to express himself in English ...sorry >..<

/// said...

These are awesome! :)

Laurel said...

I am in love with those shoes by Matthieu Missaen. So amazing, total artwork!

Can I please, please come hang out with you in India? PLEASE?! I want to travel there as soon as I graduate from college - so badly. I can't wait.

Thank you for going to vote and for the wonderful comment, bella! It means the world.
Hope you're having a great day!
xoxoxoxo

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

My mother always liked having flowers around as well. I still feel it is the best sort of gift to receive. Ephemeral, but personal.

Pratishtha Durga said...

Laurel, you deserve all the votes and comments you get :) You are such a beautiful person, and I don't mean just the way you look. I'd really love to see you win. You can surely hang out with me when you visit India. I keep meeting a lot of interesting people from across the world because my husband and I are members of the couchsurfing community.

Clothes Horse - Precisely the reason for me to have made them a part of the story.

Reena Rai said...

Those shoes are crazy!! I got that email too it was a bit disgusting!

Anonymous said...

I have to admit, those hair shoes gross me out.

Pratishtha Durga said...

Ambika: Monkey fur would gross anyone out! I like her booties, though.

Fashion dreamer: the email was biased, racist, and I just hated the way they used a lie to get to gullible people. Can you imagine that this silly email strated an online debate on how badly women are treated in Japan? Seriously, people! Get your facts right!!! Just shows how IGNORANT some people can be.

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Wow, those shoes by Matthieu Missaen are great!

Fashion Is Poison said...

my eyes!!! x_x the hairy ones are epic!

Anonymous said...

they are all beautiful