These Chopines Weren't Made For Walking
How far would you go to reach the pinnacle of fashion? While the current
craze for heel-less, 'anti-gravity' shoes might seem avant-garde, or
even dangerous, women have worn challenging footwear for centuries. In
fact, though most think Lady Gaga's stilted look started the latest
anti-gravity trend, the pop star's platforms were actually inspired by
elaborate 16th-century chopines.
Nearly 500 years ago, these sky-high platform shoes were designed to
showcase familial wealth in parts of Spain and Italy, and were sometimes
so tall they required two servants to help someone walk in them.
Collectors Weekly
spoke with Elizabeth Semmelhack, a curator at the Bata Shoe Museum in
Toronto, about the origins of the chopine trend and the lengths (or
heights) humans go to showcase their status.
Here's
a video of Semmelhack tracing the history and development of what she
calls "one of the most extreme forms of footwear ever worn in Western
dress."
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