fecal matter makes its skin heels a reality just in time for halloween

after a digitally altered pair of ‘skin heels‘ captured the attention of vogue for their flesh-like appearance and unsettling form, canadian fashion brand fecal matter has gone and actually made them. the shoe in question is a pair of flats, fashioned into an en pointe form and ‘supported’ by a steep scythe heel made to look like a bodily growth of some sort.

images via instagram/@matieresfecales

the foot-like shoes are the brainchild of montreal-based duo, hannah rose dalton and her partner, steven raj bhaskaran. they are the couple behind fecal matter (also known by their french handle @matieresfecales), an instagram account they started back in 2016 with the intention of challenging the norms and encouraging critical thinking. they have since become known for their freakish, alien-like visuals that conjure up images of cyber punk films from the 90s like the matrix of the fifth element.

made from prosthetics and originally photoshopped to perfection before being archived on the brand’s feed, these otherworldly shoes have since become a reality. tailor-made from silicon and shaped to perfectly fit the wearer’s legs, fecal matter has developed a pair to match not only the hue of the skin, but also any dents or moles. even the arch of the foot and the hair of each leg is studied to achieve the most realistic look.

the shoes, which start at a price of $10,000 a pair, have been designed in line with the brand’s idea of what people will look like as a result of body modification, social media influences and the advancement of technology. ‘we can get this alien look and present it and tweak it with photoshop and make it look really realistic,‘ bhaskaran tells vogue. ‘but at the same time, there is always this dysphoria in us. there is this urge inside of us to take what we do on the internet and try to create that via real life. that is what we are doing with the shoes.‘

but the pair aren’t the only ones to delve into this sphere. to create the boots they worked with artist sarah sitkin, who specializes in creating replicas of bodies and body parts. her latest project, ‘bodysuits,’ shows lifelike, wearable silicon body tunics depicting sags, rolls, abs, and genitals. and then back in august, makeup artist to the kardashians, simon huck, showed the exhibition ‘a. human,’ which similarly included biological heels that stem from the leg, flesh-like body corsets spawning roots, and horn-shaped shoulder growths, all of which questioned exactly how far body modification will go…