The foot fetish has arrived in fashion: this fall we’re showing toes instead of legs.
Let’s start, perhaps, with a brief list of things that traditionally represent “sexiness” in fashion: high slits, plunging necklines, daring cut-outs, semi-sheer lace or thin straps. Cuts, materials, techniques and details that focus on the (naked) skin. And despite (or precisely because?) this obvious eroticism is becoming less and less important in fashion, the designers are now transferring these design elements to the foot for their spring/summer 2024 collections. From New York to London: From now on, your toes are the new legs.
From fetish to trend: That’s why we’re showing toes instead of legs in autumn 2023
The phenomenon is the only logical continuation of the “Wrong Shoe Theory”: in all attempts to aestheticize the ugly (we are thinking here of the “Triple-S” sneakers from Balenciaga, the transparent loafers from Loewe or the pearl-studded Crocs from Simone Rocha), ultimately nothing is more disturbing than the inevitable sight of an exposed human foot. “The foot is an erotic organ, the shoe is its sexual covering,” says podiatrist William Rossi, “the human foot has its natural ‘sexiness’.” The 10 million monthly users of wikiFeet would probably also agree with this.
SRVC, spring/summer 2024
Courtesy of SRVC
Burberry, Spring/Summer 2024
Courtesy of Burberry
These designers have already brought foot fetish to the catwalks
Designers like Elena Velez, Wesley Harriott, Daniel Lee, Aaron Esh and Natasha Zinko are at the forefront when it comes to the new “erogenous zone”. Her latest shoe creations range from open mules to revealing flip-flops that (with or without socks) expose the feet with a previously unseen confidence: “Toes have had a bad reputation for years,” says shoe fetishist Lars Byrresen Petersen, ” It has become almost socially acceptable to express how afraid you are of other people’s feet. But what’s so repulsive about them? We’ve gotten used to showing our bodies scantily clad – and now it’s the feet’ turn. “
Natasha Zinko, Spring/Summer 2024
Courtesy of Natasha Zinko
Elena Velez, spring/summer 2024
Courtesy of Elena Velez
The designers know exactly what their provocative designs are – and consciously play with the supposedly ugly. At Elena Velez, models trudged through the mud in strappy stilettos paired with cut-off Nike socks. At Wesley Harriott’s they wore bizarre “one-toe socks”. Daniel Lee, in turn, created a kind of “toe-strap loafer”. Versace and Sportmax presented clinical designs, while Natasha Zinko opted for flip-flops paired with five-finger socks. Similar to Margiela’s “Tabi” boot, the designs appear decidedly tasteless, but without losing the essential touch of playfulness and provocation. They represent a new kind of seduction.
That’s what the new “Ugly Shoe” trend is all about, which plays on the foot fetish
This “ugly shoe” trend isn’t about the charming feet of an Italian farm worker gently crushing grapes in the Chianti region or the allure of a Sharon Stone in slingbacks. It’s more about a certain amount of imagination (and perhaps even callousness) to be able to recognize something glamorous in a toenail marked by mud. The designers here are designing for the rare breed of person who looks down at their feet and thinks, “How can I present them to the world today in a more shocking way?”
Sportmax, spring/summer 2024
Courtesy of Sportmax
Aaron Esh, Spring/Summer 2024
Courtesy of Aaron Esh
The polarizing aesthetic takes Irina Shayk’s look a little further with pointless boots – and is probably most likely adapted by the It girls who are currently still wearing Miu Miu’s knee-high stockings. It’s about finding pleasure in the provocative: “Airing out your feet is one of the best feelings ever,” says Lars Byrresen Petersen, “that’s why Crocs and Birkenstocks are so popular. And designers follow this instinct – people want to be naked .” Freud would probably attribute the appeal of an erotically charged shoe to a kind of long-term childhood trauma. But the shoes, which provocatively bare the toes, serve another, perhaps more important function: their design is artistically advanced – and that is perhaps the most powerful aphrodisiac of all.
This article originally appeared on Vogue.co.uk.
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2023-09-25 16:25:41
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