How can you justify wearing five-inch heels? Because there's a two-inch platform, of course. As a short person, I enjoy the benefits of heels. Increased height, longer looking legs, structured calves. Trust me, I get it. But this past New York Fashion week, skyscraper heels were the downfall of many models. Seriously, they fell. A lot.
It seems like there's a direct correlation between the increasing popularity and the increasing inches of platforms. Granted, the platform does make it more comfortable and much easier to walk, but the heights these shoes are reaching can be dangerous. According to an article by The Washington Post, the damage that heels can do to the body contributes to an annual $3.5 billion in women's foot surgeries. If a model, whose job it is to walk in heels, can't even walk down a runway without falling, how can designers expect us civilians to stomp it out? With heels reaching five and six inches, I wonder, what will be the limit? How high is too high?
It all started at the Herve Leger runway show when two models fell due to a teetering platform shoe (culprit pictured above). Apparently, it was blamed on the "slick runway floor" and not the shoes, which is open to interpretation. Thankfully, the models weren't blamed for the incident. Falling on the runway could ruin a model's career, which doesn't seem fair if the shoes are too high. According to fashionweeknews.com, Max Azria, the designer for Herve Leger, said, "If people talk about that instead of the clothes, that would be ridiculous.” Ridiculous or not, runway mishaps create general awareness of the designer. Through countless blog mentions and newspaper coverage, talk about falling models boosts a line into the spotlight, even though the shoes might not be purchased by consumers.
In the Brian Reyes show, the models weren't able to walk with their typical ferocity. Each model looked like a little girl in her mother's heels--if they were five-inch Manolo Blahniks. With stiff arms and wobbly legs, it was all they could to avoid tumbling down the runway. Many ended up taking their shoes off in mid-sashay. In the final walk, the models strutted their stuff with barefeet. It was actually quite a brilliant and healthy solution. Here's a video montage of the Brian Reyes models and a model from Herve Leger model busting it on the runway. Pure schadenfreude.
Are you willing to risk skyscraper heels? Will platforms get even higher? Tell us what you think.
Tags: Fashion Public Relations
