At TWH, we love nothing better than to flick through the latest fashion mags in our down time. Recently, we were intrigued by an article published by Harper’s Bazaar June/July 17 featuring the new shoe designer for Salvatore Ferragamo, Paul Andrew. Andrew joins the iconic fashion house with real cred as he previously designed for Calvin Klein and Alexander McQueen. There’s no denying Andrew’s obvious ability to continue the fine aesthetic of Ferragamo and produce beautiful fashion shoe (take a look at his spectacular version of the ‘F Wedge’), but how much does he know about feet?
To be frank, we were a little baffled by his comments about the modern day anatomy of the foot. Andrew states that “…the natural collagen of the foot is about half of what it use to be, which is why I had to add the cushioning.”
Now Paul, our practice has a combined 50 years experience in treating and assessing the foot. In that time we have read a few journal articles and attended just a couple of conferences related to the foot, and can’t say we’ve heard about this! Please, let us in on where you found this out.
I think it is well known and accepted that the human form has changed over time, including both stature and foot size getting larger – improvements in human nutrition can account for this. We eat more! Clothing patterns have needed to be modified for this change and dare I say shoe lasts. Feet are bigger. But less collagen? I can’t say that we agree. The fat pad in the foot does get thinner as we age, this is true and has always occurred. And, yes some health conditions certainly lead to a reduction in fat pad. But until we read otherwise, maybe you should stick to designing fabulous shoes? Leave the cushioning in them though, it does feel better!
Until next time,
E & E
