Maybe you’ve seen Beate Karlsson’s artful shoes before. They’re the ultimate mix of wearable sculpture and bizarrely surreal beings. The artist, who also works as a designer at the fashion label Pyer Moss, makes wearable butts, tooth-framed glasses and swirly earrings too.
But Beate Karlsson’s shoes are perhaps the most whimsical of all, as they resemble equal parts baby doll and unhinged objects.
The Claws need no introduction, with massive and creepily-realistic long toes akin to spider legs, it puts the wearer on a platform. Made out of 3D-printed wood fibers and silicone, Beate Karlsson has rendered The Claws shoes in both a nude and baby blue hue.
However, my personal favorite of Beate Karlsson’s strange shoes is The Fat Baby. Chunky and mystical, the shoe is a hyperreal vision of what a deranged baby from another land might wear. The thick height, the wavy ruffles, and most of all, the sculpted toes complete with toenails are incredible. Upon first glance, you may not be sure what to think. Are those real feet? Are they actually wearable? Are they soft? Hard? Is that….lettuce wrapped around the top?
I’ve been staring at Beate Karlsson’s Fat Baby Shoes for some time now, as they were initially posted as early as 2018, on the designer’s Instagram account. She’s posted multiple times about how they’re made out of silicone and you can walk in them, but it’s a bit of a clumsy experience.
I was curious if they were being sold, and it turns out they are, at APOC, an indie site that curates emerging labels, for over $3,000. They’re being sold as sculptures. Imagine the Fat Baby Shoe on your mantle or bookcase. I would worship them. But how fun would it also be to have a more wearable version to wear out for grocery shopping?
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