Ralph & Russo, the Eden Heel Pump
Yes. You will find by clicking on the link above that this is a shoe worth about $2000. What I find so inspiring about this image is what it represents about beauty in the things we take for granted.
Shoes keep your feet safe from the natural elements, that is their purpose. The way that the fashion industry has approached shoe design created a culture of obsession, creativity, and self expression. This heel in particular is a great example of how simplicity and elegance can make a bold statement about who you are. The addition of the carefully placed leaves intertwining and climbing up the heel to an otherwise plan rose colored shoe gives a sense of classic beauty that I personally would love to wear and show the world.
Moreover, I love how this design reflects the values of the brand, as stated by Michael Russo in an interview: femininity, modernity, and creativity, in an approachable way. $2000 for a pair of shoes is not approachable for me, but the other values are clearly visible through the modern shape of the shoe as well as the placement of their show stopping detail, vines crawling up the heel rather than covering the entire shoe or adding detail to the toe box, an arguably more visible section of the shoes.
Hi Liliana: this is such an elegant shoe! I think we often overlooked the potential design opportunities behind these heels and our creativity is frequently challenged to make the heels tall, short, thick, thin – and that’s it. I want to challenge you to think what are the unintended consequences behind this design? Do you think adding the additional branches will affect the ergonomics of the user who might be doing slightly longer distance walking? How would you imagine the testing process through the eye of a shoe designer? I think this is definitely a design + engineering type of question, so leverage your unique skill sets!
Hi Yao, thank you for your feedback! To give a brief answer to your questions:
What are the unintended consequences behind this design?
Some unintended consequences could be that maybe the design is too delicate, or even plain, and that it gets in the way of the functionality of the heel. Also, it could limit the number of outfits you might want to wear the shoes with. For example, if it were a plain rose pink heel, I could easily pair that with a lot of different outfits, dress it up or dress it down. With the added detail, though, this becomes a very dressy shoe that I might feel uncomfortable wearing in a more casual environment or with a more casual outfit.
Do you think adding the additional branches will affect the ergonomics of the user who might be doing slightly longer distance walking?
I think that the added branches actually would help with the slightly longer distance walking, or at least appear to help. In my experience, it is much easier to walk in heels with a sturdier heel, so the branches here give a better illusion that this heel is strong and you can walk on it, and that it will be comfortable to walk in longer than if it did not have the branches.
How would you imagine the testing process through the eye of a shoe designer?
Per my previous answer, I can imagine the engineers and designers had to ensure that the branches did offer support to the very thin, stiletto heel. I can imagine planning for the shoe design, figuring out the ideal height of the shoe for maximum comfort, taking into account where most of the pressure lies in your foot when wearing heels. Then testing out on real users, perhaps starting out with similar shoes that have been successful previous to this shoe design, then bringing out their own prototypes of it to test.