This little piggy needs to get off the market and stay home.
The newest bizarre — and frankly hideous — footwear trend called “big-toe” heels, have quite unfortunately descended upon us, and they’re giving other ugly shoe front-runners like Crocs, Birkenstock and the dreaded Vibram Fivefingers a real run for their money.
The unsightly shoes — which loudly expose the big toe while the rest are covered, like in a regular heel — first debuted on the catwalk for Paris-based brand Y/Projects’ spring/summer 2018 collection. But the heels really turned heads at last year’s spring/summer 2019 show, paired with the designer Glenn Martens’ whimsical designs.
Even more disturbing is the fact that the shoes — that go for upward of $1,000 — are selling out like hotcakes, including a black-and-white floral leather open-toed mule version, according to Lyst’s website.
Strangely, the big toe seems to really be having a moment, while other high-fashion brands like Phoebe Philo’s Céline have also hopped on the freaky bandwagon, with a line of similar heels, Pirate Leather Sandals, that only cover the big toe and reveal the rest for $695.
Somehow, these are also sold out as the #BigToeShoe craze hits Instagram.
French veteran designer Maison Margiela was the first to introduce the toe-separation craze with his Tabi calfskin boots (which go for $980) in 1989, which cover all toes, but with a big divider between the big toe and its friends.
The cutting-edge approach was adapted from the traditional Japanese tabi sock, designed to be worn with thonged footwear like zōris and getas, which are pretty much flip-flop clogs.
“I wanted to create an ‘invisible’ shoe, the illusion of a bare foot walking on a high, chunky heel,” Margiela told Geert Bruloot, the first retailer who stocked Margiela’s pre-Gaultier shoes, in a rare interview about his creation, according to GQ.
The hoof-meets-woman hybrid footprint was first introduced into the fashion lexicon during Margiela’s debut spring/summer 1989 season, when models donning the shoes dipped in red paint left the alien footprints in their wake.
But regardless of the shoe’s acclaimed avant-garde origins, even Margiela’s centaur-ish boots made their way onto the widely followed @CrimesAgainstShoemanity Instagram with a pair of boots with feet painted on top.
“You know how I feel about this,” the photo is captioned.
And the answer is “Yes,” we certainly do. When it comes to these heels, just say “No,” to the toe.
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