It is said that when ‘Object’, a fur-covered teacup, saucer and spoon by Swiss surrealist artist Meret Oppenheim, was displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1936, such were the visceral reactions that one woman dropped to the floor and fainted.
This season’s faux fur- or shearling-covered footwear might not have prompted such reactions when they appeared on the catwalks earlier this year, but in their underlying strangeness and seductive subversiveness, they nonetheless recall the surrealist spirit of Oppenheim’s work.
Furry footwear to sink your feet into
Shoes, £690, by Burberry
There are the sprouting soles of Gucci’s elegant horse-bit pumps – which give the effect of permanently walking on a soft-pile rug – or Daniel Lee’s shaggy shearling mules, part of his debut collection for British house Burberry (revealed at London Fashion Week A/W 2023), where he once again showed his prowess when it comes to crafting unexpectedly covetable accessories.
Shoes, price on request, by Sportmax
Elsewhere, Massimo Giorgetti of MSGM showed soft toy-like furry heels within an illusory collection that he called ‘an infinite journey, a dream within a dream’ – set against a vast white space in Milan for impact – while elegant heeled pumps from Sportmax and Givenchy respectively come with a smooth exterior, the latter recalling the softness of velvet. Each is a pleasure to sink your feet into.
This article appears in the November 2023 Art Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.
Carpets, featured throughout: the ‘Epoca Silky’ carpet in Sand, Rust, Dark Grey, Grey and Caramel, all price on request, by Ege Carpets.
-
The McLaren W1 is the latest in the sports car maker's tech-saturated Ultimate SeriesFirst F1, then P1 and now W1, McLaren Automotive reveals its latest limited-edition supercar to the world, a £2m concoction of hybrid power and active aero that is, unsurprisingly, already sold out
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
-
‘London: Lost Interiors’ gathers unseen imagery of some of the capital’s most spectacular homesThis new monograph is a fascinating foray into the interior life of London, charting changing tastes, emerging styles and the shifting social history of grand houses in the heart of a fast-changing city
-
For A/W 2024, the working uniform gets a futuristic spinSculpted silhouettes, unexpected textures and plays on classic outerwear meet in the A/W 2024 collections, providing a twisted new take on city dressing
-
The breathtaking runway sets of S/S 2025, from beanbag animals to a twisted living roomWallpaper* picks the best runway sets and show spaces of fashion month, which featured Bottega Veneta’s beanbag menagerie, opulence at Saint Laurent, and artist collaborations at Acne Studios and Burberry
-
The invitation for Gucci’s latest show was a reissued Enzo Mari design classicMilan Fashion Week’s best invitation came from Gucci – a reissue of Enzo Mari’s ‘Timor’ perpetual calendar in the Italian house’s signature ‘Ancora’ oxblood red
-
Gary Hume on creating Burberry’s medical-green show set, which revisits the artist’s 1990 work ‘Bays’Gary Hume opens up to Wallpaper* about collaborating with Daniel Lee on the show set for the designer’s S/S 2025 Burberry show, which took place this afternoon (16 September 2024) in the Brutalist lobby of London’s National Theatre
-
The A/W 2024 menswear collections were defined by a ‘new flamboyance’Sleek and streamlined ensembles imbued with a sense of performance take centre stage in ‘Quiet on Set’, a portfolio of the A/W 2024 menswear collections photographed by Matthieu Delbreuve
-
In fashion: the defining looks and trends of the A/W 2024 collectionsWe highlight the standout moments of the A/W 2024 season, from scrunched-up gloves and seductive leather ties to cocooning balaclavas and decadent feathers
-
In Tokyo, Gucci drafts local artisans to reimagine the Bamboo 1947 bagGucci’s ‘Then and Now’ exhibition in Tokyo celebrates 60 years of the Italian house’s presence in Japan. Here, local artisans tell Wallpaper* the story behind their contribution
-
Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expectNext week sees the arrival of Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025, with stops in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, our comprehensive guide to the month, from Alaïa’s arrival in New York to Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut
