Dezeen Magazine

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Dezeen in Israel: these high-heeled shoes that look like inflatable sex dolls are part of a collection of footwear by Tel Aviv designer Kobi Levi.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

The Blow shoes were designed to highlight how high heels are synonymous with sex and accompany a second pair where the heel illustrates the act of sex itself.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Other handmade shoes in the collection depict different animals and birds.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

One pair, named Slide, is designed to look like a playground slide with a bright blue ladder for a heel, while another pair resembles banana skins.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

If crazy shoes are your thing, you may want to check out all our stories about shoes.

Here's some more text about each pair from Kobi Levy:


Kobi Levi Footwear Art – About the designs

Elephant

This is a very elegant design, which balances between the heaviness of the huge mammal to the lightness of a high heel shoe. Every aspect of the elephant is tuned down just a little. This creates an illusion of gentleness and calmness that is probably quite rare in the wild. The long trunk extends the length of the shoe and gives is a long and slim look.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

The elephant is lovely and even cute, despite his enormous size. Its shape is very recognizable and loved by most viewers.

The upper tries to mimic the big elephant ears, which are always moving from side to side, chasing away flies and so on.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Slide

The basic idea for this design came from listening to customers of Kobi's commercial designs complaining about their feet sliding inside high heel shoes. This made Kobi think about the connection between slides in a children's playground and high heel shoes. The resemblance between the two silhouettes is striking.

The colors of this design celebrate the playfulness and joyfulness of playing grounds. The heel is made of steel in a very delicate and elaborate work.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Blow and XXX Pump

These designs try to push the usage of high heel shoes as sex objects to extreme. High heels shoes are promoting sex or hinting about sex all around us. They have become synonym with sexual displays of various kinds. Kobi has decided to show this in the most outspoken way by creating a shoe shaped as an inflatable sex doll and naming it "Blow".

Shoes by Kobi Levi

XXX is a vulgar extreme close-up display of a sexual act, disguised as a basic high heel shoe in a neutral, harmless, nude color.

Both designs challenge us to reflect on the common usage of sexual icons and imageries in the everyday media.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Dog

The idea for this design came from observing a dog breathing heavily with his ears fallen down to the ground. The ears became into a double heel and the mouth is now a peep-toe.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Banana

The combination of banana peels and shoes usually leads to unpleasant accidents.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Kobi saw the banana as a slipper, inviting the feet to slip inside and wear its bright color all around. With the heel shaped as one of the peels, the whole banana is complete. Both heel andsole are made of one aluminum piece, which gives the design strength and durability.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Miao

The inspiration for this style came from watching a cat stretch his back.

The image is obtained by freezing the motion of the cat into a single "frame". Using a silhouette of a "frozen frame" creates a sense of movement, which gives life to the design. It seems as though the cat is about to jump forward in a giant leap. The long, playful tail and the pink strap with the tiny bell add character and personality. We have all seen this cat somewhere before.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

Slingshot

The idea for this design came when Kobi noticed the "tension" created when walking with Flip Flops: The upper stretches and flips back the sole to the foot. Kobi rearranged the sole- strap connection, fixed it, and created a high heel flip flop inspired by a Sling Shot.

Shoes by Kobi Levi

This design captures and emphasizes the movement which characterizes flip flops. This movement is stopped and frozen to create the design. The Materials used for the upper: leather. The heel is made of wood.

Shoes by Kobi Levi