If you’ve been following the autumn-winter catwalks of the world’s biggest designers, then you may have noticed something quirky on the models’ feet: shoes covered in feathers or fur.
Dubbed the ‘frou-frou footwear’ trend, these shoes have come in myriad shapes, with Ferragamo opting for heels covered in black and white feathers, Jil Sander for pointed kitten heels with black fuzzy fur, Erdem for flats with a halo of black feathers, and Simone Rocha for flats with brown fur, a string bow, and black leather strap. (Talk about overkill.)
Of course, these shoes look somewhat ridiculous, and they are hardly practical for anywhere other than the runway: can you imagine what they’d end up like if it rained?
Well, turns out, that is the whole point of the shoes. Erdem, for example, explained that their contribution to the trend was inspired by diva Maria Callas, who was famously chauffeured everywhere and, therefore, was never at risk of ruining her shoes. In other words, these shoes show that the person wearing them leads a comfortable and sheltered life, much like lilly-white hands did in olden days (they proved you didn’t work long hours in a field under the blazing sun).
Whether this trend will actually be seen on the streets of major cities across the world, is yet to be seen. But, if Vogue is anything to go by, this trend is “about to go viral”.
Would you rock these feathers?
