"Injury is IN. Health is OUT. Now you can look broken while still being whole," stated the ironic campaign accompanying MSCHF'S AC-1 sneaker.
Released last year by the New York-based conceptual art collective (accustomed to break the Internet with its projects such as the recent Microscopic Handbag), the footwear was designed to look like a medical boot of the sort prescribed for people with broken feet or sprained ankles, but with the sole of a sneaker.
Made of flexible molded rubber, MSCHF's AC.1 featured ankle support, a high-traction outsole, and a removable water-resistant bootie.
Like all MSCHF's project the AC-1 sneaker seemed another perfect way to take the piss out of the fashion industry, creating a sneaker, usually a comfortable and dynamic shoe, that looked like a medical support, imagine an orthosis foot brace that you use when you have some kind of orthopaedic issue.
While the design was a satirical commentary on the fashion industry's tendency to impose uncomfortable clothing and accessories on us, the sneakers actually inspired an orthopaedic trend.
During Rick Owens' S/S 24 menswear runway, models donned flared pants with cinched waists and tops wrapped around the shoulders and chest, a combination that contributed to elongate the silhouette.
The designs were matched with gothic versions of medical boots and leg-braces in black leather.
At the beginning of the runway the sandals looked more like a futuristic reinterpretation of classic gladiator sandals, but then the orthopaedic inspiration became clearer and more marked.
Though maybe Owens was aiming to create architectural brutalist boots ans sandals, the more you looked at them, the more you got the impression you were staring at pneumatic braces, orthopaedic supports for broken feet or boots for diabetic foot (after stealing Ozempic from people suffering from diabetes to lose weight, will the industry also steal diabetic patients' physical supports for debilitating issues such as foot ulcers?).
It looks like orthopaedic inspirations are trending in fashion: while in the previous season we saw bustiers that seemed derived from orthopaedic corsets, for the next season we are moving onto footwear.
Owens' footwear looked more similar to medical supports for broken feet and it's only natural to wonder if the results would have been more original if the designer had researched the topic a bit more.
Indeed, if you really feel like pursuing the orthopaedics inspiration, as stated in a previous post, do it cleverly, researching medical archives and looking for unusual images.
There are indeed interesting objects and items in the archives of London's Wellcome Collection that can inspire a research into orthopaedic devices, from protective footwear for leprosy patients with a moulded plastazote insole to Lord Byron's orthopaedic boot secured around the shin with a leather buckle and worn with a metal leg brace.
Rick Owens, who in his S/S 24 collection also played with ideas of constriction, would have found interesting concepts for more innovative sandals in a 1930s photograph taken by a nurse, Margaret Jane Seymour Caton, at St Nicholas' and St Martin's Orthopaedic Hospital, Pyrford, Surrey, showing a rather elegant foot splint.
Padded boots issued by the Italian Army during the First World War, an early example of made in Italy craftsmanship, would have also provided further inspirations for straps and buckles (the boots featured a rather intriguing diagonal leather strap).
But there are also other types of orthopaedic supports in this collection such as an iron shoe with ankle and foot support manufactured in Italy in the 1500s.
Made for a small child, the shoe had an interesting design, it was hinged at the front and the upper casing was secured around the ankle. Supports such as this one - used to straighten feet damaged due to injury, skeletal deformity or disease such as rickets - could be reinvented and turned into platform sandals with a leather upper with cut-out motifs.
In a nutshell, the possibilities that medical archives may offer you are simply endless. Yet, if you're a designer, an even better idea, as suggested in a previous post, would be to collaborate with a medical company and produce innovative medical accessories and supports.
While branded foot braces may not be necessary, there is great potential for reinventing various medical supports to enhance a patient's self-esteem. The process of healing and recovering from an ailment encompasses a psychological aspect, and introducing appealing supports created with the help of fashion designers could contribute to a faster recovery and reduce the stigma associated with certain conditions, restoring a patient's sense of confidence and well-being.
Maybe this intent should guide fashion designers, rather than creating accessories that mock individuals with genuine ailments to make fashionistas appear as though they have a broken foot when they are actually sporting luxury boots.
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