Maison Martin Margiela Open Toe Pumps, $855 via Saks. Maison Martin Margiela Open Toe Strappy Pumps, $930 via Saks.

Usually, when dealing with a shoe that calls itself “open toe,” that means it’s open from the front. As has come to be expected from Maison Martin Margiela, though, the Maison Martin Margiela Open Toe Pumps take that idea and turn it on its head, opening the shoe from the top instead of expose a glittering sandal strap. The end result looks sort of like the top of the shoe’s vamp got accidentally sliced off during manufacturing, but I’m betting that’s all part of the plan.

I wouldn’t necessarily wear these shoes, and I certainly wouldn’t spend the money to purchase them, but I do think that, like most of Margiela’s work, this design is an interesting idea. A toe can technically be “open” from a variety of different angles, but we only over see it done from one. Playing with our assumptions about the term is clever, as is maintaining functionality in the shoe with a hidden sandal strap. The design may be fun to look at and discuss from an aesthetic perspective, but I can only imagine the most ardent of avant garde-lovers adding these shoes to their closets. Buy the pumps through Saks for $855 or the strappy version through Saks for $930.