This is a Shoe

Yes you read that right. This is a shoe.

The Mojito Shoe takes what we think we know about shoes, and throws it out the window. Designed by renowned architect Julian Hakes of the UK, the Mojito Shoe is a design clearly influenced by an architect’s brain. On his website Julian explains how he came up with the idea for the Mojito Shoe.

“One late summer night I was in the studio, thinking about the design of shoes in general. I wondered why there was the need for
a foot plate in high heels. When I look at a foot print in the sand it was clear to me that the main force goes to the heel and ball, even more so in a heeled shoe.

If you were to stand with your heel on a wooden block the foot naturally spans the gap to the floor. If the foot has its own inbuilt strength and support why duplicate this? You would not have a shirt with rigid arms between the elbows and the wrists.

So this raised the question: if the early design of a shoe was an evolution of the humble sandal was this process limited by the materials and technology available? How can new materials and design techniques lead to a new solution, an evolution, possibly a revolution?

So I began exploring these questions in a similar way to how I would design a building or a bridge; examining the load path and looking at the most simple, elegant yet poetic expression of the forces at play within the materials used.

The resulting form was rather like a twist of lime peel and so I named it the ‘Mojito’.

The Mojito is a unique shoe design. It is a single wrapped geometry which starts under the ball of the foot, sweeps over the bridge, then down below the heel before twisting back on itself to provide the support for the heel”.

Julian Hakes

I first saw this shoe on Pinterest and pinned it to my “My Style” boards. At the time I couldn’t find out much information about these shoes, but now it seems to have exploded into the fashion world.  The shoe won the Drapers Footwear and Accessories award in the year 2012. It has been featured in countless fashion magazines, and even on the big screen. Hakes partnered with marvel to create a pair of shoes for Pepper Pots, Iron Man’s leading lady. Gwyneth Paltrow who plays Pepper in the movie also ended up donating a signed pair of White Mojito’s in order to raise money for the Stand Up for Cancer UK foundation.

The Mojito shoe comes in a wide variety of colors, from classic black and nude to vibrant neon hues. These are show stopping statement shoes. Costing around 159.99 British Pounds or roughly $274.57 US Dollars, the shoes are an investment. But these architecturally inspired shoes are quite timeless and elegant, so remember… you only live once, buy the shoes!!!!

You can look at all the currently available styles and prices for the Mojito Shoe on Julian Hakes website here

Mom *cough*santa*cough* if you’re reading this… I’ve been a good girl this year and I really think I deserve a pair of Classic Black and Pewter Mojito’s, size 9 US,7 UK from http://www.cloggs.co.uk/search?q=mojio, They’re on sale J