Would You Wear Shoes Made From Dead Animals?

Artist collects animal carcasses to create shoes

By Kim Anne Mar 12, 2012 9:25PM

From mile-high stilettos to heels covered in diamonds, designers are always going to extremes to make a more chic-looking shoe.

But German artist Iris Schieferstein is using a much different approach when crafting hers: dead animals.

According to The Virtual Shoe Museum, the artist has been using raw material (aka. the aforementioned dead animals) in her art pieces for years.

Not shockingly, the shoes have garnered the attention of celebs including Lady Gaga and, according to the Daily Mail, can cost close to $6,000. Daily Mail claims the process of creating the shoes includes “stripping out any remaining meat and bones from the animal's feet and the skin is sent to a tanner to be treated for preservation” before she crafts them into stilettos. One of her more controversial pieces is a pair of sandals made with stuffed doves.

“She joins the fragments together to new creatures and thus gives a new face to death," says the Virtual Shoe Museum, which houses information on her and other designer’s collections. “No matter, if her arrangements follow paintings of the great masters of art or if the joined objects turn out to be whole words - her work always gives evidence of aesthetic intuition and her inclination to subtle entertainment. The earlier you die - the longer you are dead.”

We’re all for limited edition, totally unique fashion, but the art of combining taxidermy and couture seems a little off the rocker.

Tell us on Facebook—would you wear shoes made of dead animals?

Photo courtesy Iris Schieferstein

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Mar 13, 2012 7:25PM

Technically, if your shoes are leather, you're already wearing shoes made of dead animals - they usually don't live too long after having their skin removed...