Footloose the adjustable heel. It’s a shoe that can be worn as a flat or a high heel.

This picture of course is just the base and not what the final product will look like.

Footloose- adjustable high heels by Marte den Hollander

It’s often said that ‘everything has been thought of’. As a designer, I think the opposite is true. As soon as you take a closer look to the world, you notice all things can be improved.

The high-heeled shoe is a classic example of a no pain, no gain product. Women wearing them take so much trouble for granted! I decided to challenge this compromise. Would it be possible to make a shoe having all advantages of high heels, just as well as the comfort of flats?

I designed a shoe with a high heel, which can be changed into a shoe with a low heel. No more extra pairs of shoes in your bag, no more trouble driving a car or walking stairs, no more painful feet, no more knee and ankle damage…

For such a product to be a serious alternative for regular heels it has to be mechanically and ergonomical-ly sound, and moreover: it has to have allure!

The character of this shoe is in the heel shape. It has separate tips for both positions. While being used in one position, the other heel tip is kept out of sight in and opening in the sole. The shoe is being transformed with a simple and quick movement: one just pulls the heel downwards to release it, after which it can be folded in or out as preferred. The adjustment of the heel position automatically changes the curvature of the sole to fit the altered shape of the foot. This mechanism has been patented.

via www.core77.com