Alexander McQueen Ostrich Platform Pumps, $1925 via Net-a-Porter

One fantastic thing about Alexander McQueen that Sarah Burton has managed to continue is that he never chased trends. If something wasn’t fashionable and he still wanted to do it, he went right ahead and did it. What’s more, McQueen often used his creative powers to skewer crass popular fads, most notably with his “bumster” pants, an answer to the “hipsters” that were popular at the time.

The Alexander McQueen Ostrich Platform Pumps likely aren’t meant as fashion commentary, but they do go ahead the popular grain for shoe structures. While designers left and right are scrambling to abandon stilettos with significant platforms in favor of more ladylike pump shapes, McQueen goes right on doing its own thing. This time, the results are oddly lovely.

It feels a bit odd to call a shoe that so closely resembles the structure of a stripper heel “lovely,” but between the delicate lavender color and the subtle texture of the ostrich leather (from the leg instead of the body of the animal, which accounts for the scales), this design is surprisingly pretty. The sole structure, material and color mean that this design is a pump adaptation of McQueen’s splendid (if impractical) runway boots, and the little bits of metal provide a very special finishing touch. Leave it to the creative forces behind Alexander McQueen to take a shape that’s been beat into the ground by every designer imaginable and still find a way to make it appealing. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $1925.

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