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