Alexander McQueen Studded Platform Sandals, $2295 via Nordstrom

Even as man brands decide to try out lower-heeled and platformless shoes in the wake of season after season of vertiginous ankle-breakers, Alexander McQueen stands strong in its love for extreme shoes. Normally this would be a thing about which I’d gripe, but for a company as committed to the extreme and perilous as McQueen, on an aesthetic level, a crazy shoe makes a lot of sense.

The Alexander McQueen Studded Platform Sandal is just the latest in a long line of similar designs, but it’s worth revisiting for the heel alone. Look at that thing.

McQueen’s attention to detail always astounded me, and it continues to astound me now that the brand is under the leadership of Sarah Burton. It would have been very easy to put a normal straight heel on this shoe; just as many department stores would have bought it, and the exact same type of consumer would have been attracted to it. The curved heel, though, is so much more interesting and unique. Its use typifies the sort of unexpected choices that makes McQueen’s work a joy to behold, all the way down to the floor. Literally. Buy through Nordstrom for $2295.