Rectangle Shoes by Maria Nina Vaclavek

Just what is it that drives most women crazy when clothing south of the ankle present something new and exciting. I mean no-one ever said, “now that’s a great pair of Croc’s !”, and I guess they never will.  Czech Republic-based student designer Maria Nina Vaclavek has created a brutally designed shoe dubbed the ‘Rectangle Shoe’. Rectangular in form, but they take on the curvy shape of the wearer’s feet.

Her inspiration comes from the first shoe made by prehistoric man. In a statement by the designer, she says, “The caveman hunted down an animal, skinned it and wrapped the leather – still raw and warm – around his foot where he tightened it with bast. The leather adapts the shape of the user’s foot. I found this technology very interesting and decided to work with it further.”

Vaclavek used this method and wrapped a piece of wet vegetable-tanned leather around a platform and a shoemaker’s last. As it dries in that shape, the leather takes on the solid shape of the shoes.

They may look rigid, but Vaclavek assures that these shoes are as comfortable as any shoes of the same height.