Beauty Is Pain

The phrase “beauty is pain” appears to be common in today’s society. The Guardian reports that Americans had nearly 14 million cosmetic surgeries a year on collegian, Botox injections, nose jobs, breast implants, and buttock lifts alone.

Another form of pain comes in a pair, typically referred to as “stilettos,” or heels in general. Many women take the liberty of inducing pain upon their feet just to master the final touches of an outfit. Shoe genius Christian Louboutin said it best: “High heels are pleasure with pain.”

While this shoe trend has been a hot commodity for years, it is nothing compared to the elaborate collaboration between artist Leanie van der Vyver and Dutch shoe designer René van den Berg.

Meet the viral sensation, “Scary Beautiful.” This is the title to van der Vyver and van den Berg’s shoe creation. Imagine ballerina point shoes with a massive heel that is backwards on the foot. The wearer’s feet point straight down the back, with their shin leaning against the front heel.

According to Yahoo!, van der Vyver has been working in fashion for seven years. After she was exposed to the imperfections the industry goes above and beyond to perfect, she decided to channel her frustration into Scary Beautiful.

“Humans are playing God by physically and metaphorically perfecting themselves. Beauty is currently at an all time climax, allowing this project to explore what lies beyond perfection,” said the designer. “Scary Beautiful challenges current beauty ideals by inflicting an unexpected new beauty standard.”

The images are haunting and that is just the beginning. van der Vyver released a short video of a model wearing the heels that is equally moving. The evocative choreography is similar to a newborn giraffe learning to walk.

After viewing pictures of Scary Beautiful, Hayley Pope, an early childhood education major from San Antonio, looked utterly confused.

“It reminds me of when people walk on stilts, but a shorter more awkward version,” said Pope.

She continued to describe the shoe as looking unstable and not fashionable. Pope said she was unsure how this form of art was fashionable and seemed skeptical when asked if she would ever own a pair.

“I mean if you’re in the circus,” said Pope. “How could anyone walk in those?”

Even if the San Antonio native chooses to skip out on the viral sensation, Lady Gaga is game.

van der Vyver told Yahoo! That the pop sensation did request them as a shoe option for one of her music videos, but it was never confirmed if she used the shoe art or not.