Every so often, in this crazy world of fashion, you encounter something that is so baffling, so ludicrous, so incomprehensible, that you have to take a moment and wonder if the sky has fallen in. We all know that fashion likes to cozy up to sporting events; there is a huge industry around dressing people (mainly inappropriately) for every conceivable, crowd-generating, sport – a matchy-matchy, floaty-floaty dress for the horse-races, a jaunty little hat for the cricket, sometimes even sky-high heels for ringside at the basketball. But when fashion actually starts merging, quite literally, with key elements of a particular sport…well then it’s time to worry. And so I present to you: Hoof Heels – a pair of heels…made with real horse hair…IN THE SHAPE OF HOOVES.
Something to do with Betfair, something to do with Cheltenham and something genuinely to do with charity, but ultimately – COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY BONKERS.
See below, some way of explanation from Betfair.
“Designer shoes made in the style of real horse feet and legs are set to go on sale at the Cheltenham Festival tomorrow. The knee and ankle-length zip-up hoof shoes are being pitched as the perfect accessory for racing fans who want to stand out from the crowd and be noticed in the parade ring.
Betfair, the world’s biggest betting community, commissioned a team of fashion designers to produce the equine footwear to celebrate 100 years of the Cheltenham Festival. The unique horseshoes are being sold for €1,343.67 a pair, the sum of money people would have been better off at last year’s festival compared to betting on the industry starting price had they placed €10 on every winner with Betfair. All proceeds will go to charity.
Each shoe is made using an imitation carbon-fibre hoof and up to five thousand individual horse hairs stitched into a knee (55cm) or ankle (25cm) length design”.
