A Fashion History of the Most Fantastical High Heels to Hit the Runway
Haute couture may typically be revered as fashion’s most rarified arena, with this season as no exception. Take a closer peek at the details, though, and things start to get a bit trippy–especially when it comes to the footwear. No, your eyes aren’t fooling you; you aren’t high–fashion’s most recent couture runways have had some wild and whacky heels walking all over them, from Schiaparelli’s peacock-point pumps to the earthy toadstool-ettos that grounded Matthieu Blazy’s ethereally light Chanel couture debut.
Of course, high heels plucked straight from fantasy lands are hardly anything new in fashion, where trompe l’oeil is basically tradition. Nicolas Ghesquière’s spring 2007 Balenciaga Lego heels, Alexander McQueen’s spring 2010 Armadillo platforms, Y/Project’s Cinderella slippers–and, of course, Chanel’s very own history of mind-boggling shoe moments, as chronicled by Instagram’s favorite shoe archivist @larslala.
Indeed, footwear has always been native territory for freaky ideas–here, we look back on some of the most fantastical high heels in fashion history.
Michel Arnaud1/18Thierry Mugler fall 1984 goat hoof wedges
The late, great Thierry Mugler raised the benchmark when it comes to fantastical fashion, with the footwear he created being no exception. In the mid ’80s, at a blockbuster show staged at an arena in Paris, he debuted his game-changing “goat hoof,” a surreal platform boot with a concave heel, laying the groundwork for a number of the shoes you’ll see below.
Michel Arnaud/Getty Images2/18Jean Paul Gaultier spring 1994 cleat heels
The fashion-sport dialogue may be at a fever pitch, but back in the early ’90s, Jean Paul Gaultier’s cleat heels set the tone for the many sport shoe stilettos that have come since.
3/18Balenciaga fall 2007 Lego heels
In 2007, Nicolas Ghesquière’s future-forward, playful approach to design was epitomized by these brightly-hued stilettos, informally named after the Danish toy building blocks. Proof that if it can be thought of, it can be built!
4/18Alexander McQueen spring 2010 armadillo boots
One of the most revered wacky high heels in fashion, this convex, talon heel debuted in Plato’s Atlantis, Lee McQueen’s final collection before his tragic passing. A testament to his capacity for thinking beyond the parameters of the human form, they instantly earned a place in the fashion historical canon.
Elena Braghieri/Getty Images5/18Prada spring 2012 flame wedges
Prada always brings the heat. These iconic wedges from the early 2010s are a testament to the brand’s irreverence, and in their heyday, set every major street-style scene ablaze.
