Did you take one look at these Christian Louboutin Point Shoe Stilettos and immediately think, “Whoa, high-end fetish gear?” If you did, you spend far too much time on the Internet, just like I do. And although these shoes do look an awful lot like the bondage shoes featured on sites less family-friendly than this one, these Louboutins are for a much more high-brow purpose: to benefit the English National Ballet.

That’s right, they’re point shoes! Point shoe stilettos. The ballet asked a number of designers to make custom pieces for a charity auction, and Louboutin’s extreme contribution is perhaps the most notable. The shoe features hand beading and an eight-inch stiletto heel with no platform, putting anyone brave enough to wear them up on her toes like a dancer. But obviously these shoes are intended to be an art piece and collector’s item, not a shoe that should ever grace one’s feet. I can’t help but wonder who bought them at auction last night – was it one of you ladies out there?

Photo via the Daily Mail.