No Heel? No Problem.
When you aren't among the fashion majority taller than 5'4" (and the average American woman is only 5'5''), wearing heels can be more of a fashion staple than a fashion statement. The comfort of elevation to the average height is always assuring, but comes at the cost of aching feet and constant debate. Are heels worth the pain? Is beauty pain?
I usually err to the side of height over comfort, so my radar for heels is extra sensitive when runway season is in full swing. So the pair of shoes I'm about to discuss deserves all the spotlight and camera time possible. Because it's really really cool.
Saint Laurent has a special place for entertainment in my heart. Anthony Vaccarello has been doing some funky stuff lately with the "mono-boob" dress and the monogram heel that I may still be slightly disturbed by.
Releases of items like the Edie Slingback Pump make the shoe selection more than eye-catching, but nothing beats the visually confusing heel-less shoe. That's right. These heels don't have... heels.
The Fall 2017 collection includes a shoe like no other. With a slightly more forgiving incline than the Edie or Amber Ankle Strap Sandal, the heel-less shoe bears a minimalist aura. Its simplicity in color and display all leads to attention in what isn't there. The lack of the traditional heel is so subtle that you almost don't notice it at first. The intricate details of the flat support make us all wonder: how is this even possible?
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Vogue writer Liana Satenstein was absolutely entranced with the science behind this shoe, deferring to Columbia University physicians to explain the mathematical reasoning behind its design. It looks extremely painful and impossible, but science says it's most definitely possible.
The idea of "heel-less" shoes isn't revolutionary. Giuseppe Zanotti and Steve Madden have been making similar minded shoes for a bit, what apparently pervades in the depths of what might be grimy club culture known as gravity shoes. What sets Saint Laurent apart from these otherwise obnoxious family of shoes is its sleek, non-"chunkiness".
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Normally tainted by what look like avant-garde disaster details and experimental foot torture devices, heel-less shoes have found a well deserved break. For that, I thank Vaccarello.If the traditional gravity shoes are your man, Saint Laurent's heel-less shoes are most definitely the guy you told your man not to worry about.
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