If there’s any man in the shoe business that I’d trust to work masterfully with odd materials, it’s Christian Louboutin. He rarely does any wrong, so if he wants to go a bit left of center, I certainly won’t stop him. And in general, ostrich isn’t an unexpected material for leather goods, but what about the leather that comes from ostrich legs?

Normally, the leather goods we see that come from ostriches are from the skin below the feathers, thus the signature bumps where the bird has been plucked. But the Christian Louboutin Bibi 140 Pumps use another ostrich material entirely. Like the Missoni Chicken Foot Bag before them, these shoes go below the waist on one of our fine feathered friends to add a bit of eye-catching texture.

Did anyone else look at this shoe and think, “Huh, kinda looks like dinosaur skin?” I certainly did, and I stand behind that sentiment. The look of this leather is almost prehistoric, and since I don’t have the same negative associations with ostrich skin as I do with that of chickens, I don’t find myself particularly skeeved out. In fact, if designers can find ways to use more parts of an animal, I’m all for it – the less waste, the fewer ethical questions that nag at the back of my mind. Not to mention that these shoes manage to be simultaneously fascinating and totally neutral and wearable; Louboutin has done it again. Pre-order via ChristianLouboutin.com for $1565.