Models Quit Over McQueen Armadillo Heels
by Erin Donnelly (Subscribe to Erin Donnelly's posts), Posted Dec 23rd 2009 at 10:10AM
Killer heels, literally! Photo: Getty Images
There comes a time when a gal's just gotta put her foot down.
Or not, as it were.
So when Alexander McQueen called on his Spring/Summer 2010 runway models to slip on his death-defying, 10-inch-tall Armadillo shoes, catwalkers Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natasha Poly and Sasha Pivovarova quit the show in protest, Kershaw tells Frockwriter.
Who says models are dumb?
These boots aren't made for walking. Photo: Getty Images
Kershaw can't be blamed for erring on the side of caution. The model stumbled at Rodarte last September, had to sit out part of the Fall/Winter '09 shows due to a knee injury caused by another footwear-related near-miss, and even fainted thanks to a suffocating corset at McQueen's Spring/Summer '09 show last year, according to the source.
Yikes. We hope the poor thing has insurance.
But while Kershaw, Poly and Pivovarova may have 86'd McQueen's controversial kicks, style stars like Daphne Guinness and Lady Gaga have braved the monstrous heels sans bloodshed.
Heck, Guinness even marveled to Fashionista at the time that the straight-from-the-runway shoes were "quite light."
We'll just have to take her word for it. Those beasts give us nightmares.
Meanwhile, the Armadillo isn't the only shoe getting snubbed. Find out why Stuart Weitzman is ditching his million-dollar shoe.
Pam 12-23-2009 @ 8:20PM
Those are insane and ugly. Who's the idiot who thought that to be creative and fashionable???
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ngtdreamin 12-23-2009 @ 11:43PM
LOL I dont now but Lady Ga Ga is sporting them in her Bad Romance video.
iloveyoubutter09 12-23-2009 @ 8:22PM
I would never wear them
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Misha 12-23-2009 @ 8:44PM
They look like misshapen, clunky, ballet boots.
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H 12-23-2009 @ 8:45PM
Am glad to see most people are in their right minds. What kind of jerk would think we could be forced to wear these monstrosities! Off with your head (if you have one, that is).
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SecretPact 12-23-2009 @ 8:49PM
Those have to be the ugliest shoes I have ever seen. What agency regulates the safety of the models? It's about time people started to stand up for their own personal safety. Shame on us for buying any designer's things that are hazardous to humans.
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Mack 12-23-2009 @ 8:50PM
Some thing's really scared me as a child.
I am 55 now and those thing's make me want to hide from them!!!
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Jessica 12-23-2009 @ 9:28PM
I wear 6-inch stillettos on occasion, because they look good and give you a sexy walk. But what kind of moron would wear those ghastly things? Just looking at them make my toenails hurt. They look like they could cripple your feet permenantly. And on top of that, they're hideously ugly.
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Minnie-C 12-23-2009 @ 9:19PM
Finally, sensible women are standing up to those insane fashion sadists who call these monsterosities "beautiful". If fashion is dangerous, injurious or impractical just don't wear it. You should never have to suffer to look good.
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nymphadora 12-23-2009 @ 9:23PM
These shoes combine a greatly enlarged silhouette of a foot deformed by binding with S & M heels. Weirdly obscene yet fascinating. A good time to remember that fashion is fantasy. I could not push a shopping cart in these, nor want to.
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weezee 12-23-2009 @ 9:25PM
Those are the ugliest shoes I've ever seen! Why don't these male designers stop and think about what they're trying to sell.
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monique 12-23-2009 @ 9:35PM
Lady Gaga wore those in her Bad Romance video
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Elena 12-23-2009 @ 9:57PM
who in their right mind would even make something like this..?
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BEEZZER 12-23-2009 @ 10:05PM
Yea, right ! How to twist your foot in 2 seconds or less wearing these,' heels.'
FACT; they're as UGLY as they are BAD for your feet. Super Stupid Style !
Designer must have dreams of women prancing around in 4" animal hooves.
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Jane 12-23-2009 @ 10:15PM
Ok, i may seem crazy, but i am 14 and those shoes look easy to walk in and comfy. I took ballet for like 8 years and it doesnt look any different then toe shoes.
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ipodgal227 12-23-2009 @ 11:04PM
These shoes are hideous and I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would even design these monsters, let alone wear them. Those models made the right choice. If I had to walk in these shoes, I'd probably break my ankle in 2 seconds.
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camarosx2 12-23-2009 @ 11:17PM
lol I'm probably the only straight guy commenting here but if I saw a girl wearing them ugly ass shoes then I.d just be laughing at her hahaha
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jazz 12-24-2009 @ 12:10AM
okay i use to be a ballet dancer and i had to stand on the tip of my toes for hours and hours and when i see these i qet scared..lol..i mean Lady Gaqa, Beyonce and Rihanna wore them in their vids like it was nothinq lol...Like if I qot blisters and broken toes from just standinq on my toes with just flats on, I could only imaqine wth would happen if I dared put them on..I could probably break my leq lol..They're scary and kinda uqly but you can't help but to qet lookinq at them because they're just that weird and pretty fascinatinq to look at..it's like footbindinq with heels lmao..
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pyrowolf1410 12-24-2009 @ 12:38AM
my mama always told me common sense over fashion sense...well, my common sense AND fashion sense tell me never to wear those shoes!! good for the models who refused!!!
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Gail 12-24-2009 @ 1:00AM
This man must hate women, anyone that buys these shoes deserves to break their ankle. I say let the designer wearn them for a month first.
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