leanie van der vyver: scary beautiful
‘scary beautiful’ by leanie van der vyver + rené van den berg
cape town-based designer leanie van der vyver has collaborated with dutch designer and shoe fabricator rené van den berg to execute ‘scary beautiful’, a pair of shoes for women which reverses the expected location of the heels and insole. she presented the absurdfootwear, the conclusion to her graduation work at the gerrit rietveld academie in amsterdam, at the 2013 design indaba conference where she was a speaker. the provocative concept was developed by van der vyer as a commentary on the current fashion industry standards, in which she created a pair of high heels which sees aesthetics, ergonomics and prosthesis merge into an awkward choreographic performance.
shoes place the high heel in front of the user
the user must pointe their foot to insert into the shoe’s modified vamp which is inclined forward and tapers down to the toebox. the foot rests upon a platformed toebox and is stabilized within the glove-like shoe with a brace which wraps the ankle and is secured with buckles. spreading up the front of the shin, an angled heel projects from a tract of suede to support the individual. these ‘high-toed’ pumps instead position the leather sole to cover the arch of the foot.
(left) standing upright, with knees remaining slightly bent (right) sitting cross-legged
‘humans are playing God by physically and metaphorically perfecting themselves. beauty is currently at an all time climax, allowing this project to explore what lies beyond perfection. scary beautiful challenges current beauty ideals by inflicting an unexpected new beauty standard.’ -leanie van der vyver
video demonstrates a woman walking with the shoes on
leanie van der vyver on her ‘scary beautiful’ shoes
video courtesy of design indaba
design indaba conference 2013leanie van der vyer has been one of the speakers at the 3-day design conference in cape town, south africa. the design indaba conference, which took place at the cape town international convention centre from february 27 to march 1, featured forty protagonists from the architecture, art and design world.
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she looks like dragging herself to the bathroom…..
Or like she’s wrapping up in the bathroom.
Bodily issues aside, the notion of reworking fashion pieces to change the movement of its wearer is thought provoking.
like they did with chastity belts or foot binding?
Dear Designboom, I, René van den Berg, did NOT design these shoes. They were designed as graduationwork by Leanie van der Vyver. I suggest a rectification is the least you can do.
In addition to my previous comment, I did help Leanie to create the shoes and make them wearable.
@Rene van den Berg
Please define “wearable.”
Scary hideous… There is no design merit to those at all. The woman in the video looks like she’s being tortured.
These shoes are ridiculous and dangerous!!! Walking in these shoes completely changes your natural balance. Talk about damage to the back and calves!!!
Nice chick, that’s all =D
walkin like a zombie is after all the latest fashion craze
These days, Fashion NEVER equals functionality. This is just like all those runway shows of people in peacock feathers and huge spikes or whatever. No one is ever actually going to wear something like this, its completely for show and nothing more
Fashion victim..
who ever needs to raise a partner that high in real life, should have fantasized for fashion instead
she wears them for work obviuosly
she wears them to work
The shoes as objects themselves are absolutely fantastic. Interesting to look at, captivating to figure out how the support would work and feel. As a retired ballerina and pointe dancer, these could be such an unusual sensation since you are positioned so far forward while wearing these pumps.
What is the purpose of shoes like these?? She can’t even walk gracefully in them, she is crunched over? The only appeal they would have would be to a person who likes to see a woman in pain and incapeable of escape!
I think these shoes are meant to be more like a piece of visual and performance art, rather than shoes, per se. As I read through the comments, I think there are a lot of compelling thoughts and ideas about womens’ fashion and what it often does to women, including the negative effects. Even the way she walks looks particularly (overly) pained… I imagine she could probably walk a bit more gracefully. Perhaps the slowness is an added effect?
I find it very scary and painful to see the torture on her… its absolute madness!
With these shoes she’s the perfect match to Torgo from Mano: The Hands of Fate.
My back hurt watching this video. I hope that poor model at least got her chiropractor bill paid for!
does anyone possibly know this model’s name? she is gorgeous.
she looks like a pterodactyl baby.
oh my damn she’s hot. FAP FAP FAP
CB55 writes, \”These shoes are ridiculous and dangerous!!! Walking in these shoes completely changes your natural balance.\”
Good lord. And \”standard\” high heels don\’t? In fact the forced gait change is precisely why they\’re worn.
If you do not understand thing A, chiming in on a discussion about thing B, which is /itself/ a statement about thing A, is a Bad Idea.
I think those shoes are made for doggy style!
looks so beautiful
The level of some comments here is just very sad.
Aside from that, the shoes are thought provoking, and IMHO an excellent exemple of so-called “critical design” applied to fashion.
yep)))time is running… so Where r we rushing?
This poor, formerly healthy woman has been turned into a cripple that can now barely walk.
Notice how natural and at ease she appears to be in the first frames prior to putting on these \’shoes\’.
Perhaps adding a blindfold may further add to her suffering.
The por, poor girl!
reminds me of your ballet pointe shoes!!!
I guess model paid for what? torture?
Any she is much much beautiful then shoes.
whats her name any more images of her in normal
pose.
Anybody in this string ever hear of Matthew Barney? This is pure performance, people!
(: theres nothing new about it and can try a job opportunity at cirque du soLame
stop hating people, they’re obviously an art piece, and i think they’re amazing! you cannot compare these to foot binding. I’m sure this model had a choice to wear these. You’re talking like she was forced into it!
Nice art piece I see it as point made humourously on torture instruments made for women in the name of fashion
I want the dress.