Reflections | Lady Gaga and Zendaya’s crazy high heels aren’t a patch on these Chinese platform shoes
- A gorgeous pair of shoes dating from China’s Guangxu period and on show at the Hong Kong Palace Museum don’t contort the wearer’s feet into unnatural arches
- The Manchu-style shoes, however, did not catch on among Han Chinese women because of the atrocious Han Chinese custom of bound feet
I recently saw photographs of Anne Hathaway, Lady Gaga, Zendaya and other celebrities in what seems to be the footwear of the moment: insanely high platform heels.
For the uninitiated, these are shoes sporting impossibly high heels, with wedges elevating the fronts so that it’s possible to wear and maybe even walk in them. In this fashion cycle, the most popular platform heels are the Valentino Tan-Go, which retail for US$1,150, podiatrist’s fees not included.
A different kind of platform shoes, which, in my opinion, are prettier and possibly kinder on the feet, are on display at the recently opened Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District.
The gorgeous pair of shoes, dating from the Guangxu period (1875-1908), are fashioned from silk and cotton, and festooned with colourful appliqués and beadwork. The platforms that elevate these shoes, which were worn by Manchu ladies of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), extend downwards from the centre of the soles.
Unlike platform heels, where the wearer’s feet are contorted into unnatural arches, the feet of women wearing these Manchu platform shoes remain flat. However, given the height of the platforms, from a modest few centimetres to three-quarters of a foot (23cm), women who wore them had to maintain their balance and be mindful of their gait.
Therein lay the attraction of these shoes, which were also known as “flower-pot bottoms” and “horse-hoof shoes” by virtue of the shapes of their wooden platforms. They compelled wearers to perambulate at a slower pace and comport themselves with dignity and grace.