Mojito Shoes

Those of you who have seen me walking around lately know that, while I am no fashionisto, I do enjoy my fine Italian alternative footwear (I've never shod Italian before, makes me feel special). The shoe on the right is called the Mojito because of its resemblance to a lime peel for the cocktail, certainly qualifies as alternative footwear.

The shoe is designed by Julian Hakes, out of London whose firm specializes in bizarrely abstract bridges (pictures on their website, if you can figure out how to work the Flash display). He noted that when walking in heels, the load is borne by the heel and the toe, so he eliminated pretty much everything else. Says Hakes:

Most shoes are designed from the outside in - they are designed to look good on the foot. As an architect I did the opposite and designed them from the inside out - I looked at how the foot moves, how it transfers the body's load. For me, it wasn't much different from designing a bridge.

The Mojito is a carbon fiber shoe, with leather next to the foot for comfort, and  rubber on the side that touches the floor.

The shoe is not currently mass-produced, but Hakes is making them as on off products. You can contact Hakes directly if you'd like a pair.


Sources:
All Voices
de zeen
Mail Online
Softpedia
Vibram Five Fingers
Hakes Associates Architects