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Killer Heels Exhibit @ The Brooklyn Museum
Materials & Manufacturing Processes - Recitation
Anna Tedstrom
Form: Japanese Sandals - 1984
My favorite “form” shoe were the Japanese Sandals from
1984. These strikingly tall platform sandals force the
wearer to walk in a figure eight pattern because of the
extruding slanted faces on the insides of the shoes
making it impossible to stand with your feet right next
to each other. Geisha and Orian women commonly wore
these shoes while they served high-ranking clientele.
The figure eight style walk was meant to seduce high
paying clients, as their hips would sway back and forth
with each slow step. These shoes are still worn today in
dance and high fashion. I love that by just changing the
shape of the shoe’s base you can completely change the
way someone walks and interacts with the shoe. I also
find it fascinating how chunky and impractical the shoe
looks as a wearable item but their unique shape and size
force the wearer to keep the shoe on the ground and
slide it across the floor as they walk. I guess you need
some smooth floors!
Effect: Aoi Kotsuhiroi, Forbidden Color Heel - 2013
The shoes that stood out to me most in terms of effect
were the Aoi Kotsuhiroi Forbidden Color Heels, made
in 2013. They have such an interesting shape following the knot in the cherry wood, integrating the horns
as heels, and adding kangaroo leather; all dyed the
same shade of red. My main interest is the form and
their unique shape but I’m also curious how the
display of the ties changes with a wearer. In the
display the leather straps are tied through the hole in
the center of the heel, which would be very uncomfortable to walk on for more than a few steps.