Alber Elbaz Says Models Looked Like Alcoholics In His Spring High Heels (PHOTOS)

Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz narrowly avoided a disaster on the catwalk -- he told WWD that all of the models at his Spring/Summer 2011 show were initially sent strutting in titanium heels.

"We did the rehearsal and all of a sudden I saw the girls couldn't walk. I saw the agony in their faces. They were shaking; they looked like alcoholic girls." Luckily, he had the sandals from the commercial collection backstage. "We bring everything [to the show site]," he explains. So off the stilettos went and on came the flats. "Only 10 or 12 [of the models] said they could walk in the heels," he continues. "But the ones that couldn't were, like, 37 of them. I got very emotional -- not that I got mad at them -- but I got very emotional that they didn't complain. You know what? Damn it with image. You can be stubborn and go after an image, but I'm not an image-maker; I'm a dressmaker. If you don't feel good in something, you don't look good with it."

Incidentally, Elbaz also revealed that when he left the fashion world years ago after Gucci Group took over Yves Saint Laurent, he considered becoming a doctor -- a side-job that might come in handy if he continues to craft shoes that look like medieval torture devices.

"I'm a hypochondriac -- big time. I'm fascinated by doctors. If you had a stethoscope now, I'd be fainting here," Elbaz said. According to WWD, Elbaz got back into fashion after he read an article "about a mother whose son was hurt in a terror attack."

"At first I thought to myself, who needs fashion?" he recalls. "Look what life is about." Yet the next morning, he woke up with the thought that fashion makes women feel good. "A doctor will give you a Tylenol," he says. "I will give you a beautiful red coat, and you will feel as good with Tylenol as with the red coat."

Check out the heels in question, which some of the models did manage to wear (although do note the Band-Aids...yikes!):

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Comments

[redglitter]

12:55 AM on 12/01/2010

Okay those are some nasty shoes. I like heels, pumps, but these things have no shape. They're like bookends with pencils stuck on for heels.And maybe get some shoes that actually fit the models so their toes don't hang off the edge. As well, those are some nasty looking feet!

[emlr]

01:00 PM on 11/30/2010

The only people that could possibly wear these would be professional ice skaters. The bottom of the shoe is one solid, narrow edge, just a little wider than a pair of ice skates. The metal band attaching the nail of a heel to the sole makes the foot inflexible.

[ligligl]

10:05 PM on 11/03/2010

I wonder if men like high heels because the women can't run away? Ever wonder if a Valentine Heart took the model from a woman's torso? Think about it.

[Teriqua Jones]

08:42 PM on 11/03/2010

These shoes are beautiful to look at. Models traditionally walk with the ball of their foot hitting the floor first. These shoes look like they are not wide enough under the part of the shoe the models would typically walk on.
Perhaps he should recruit models from a local dance club and put some poles on the runway. Dancers are able to negotiate those shoes and most likely are the only people who buy them.
They are beautiful shoes, just not made for walking.

[mairs]

12:23 PM on 11/03/2010

My mother wore heels all her life, and ended up having foot surgery because of it.

[caroline gray]

10:36 PM on 11/02/2010

those heels are gorgeous, must be said.

[Heather Irwin]

01:45 PM on 11/02/2010

Every designer should be forced to wear their ridiculous clothing and shoes before foisting them on the world. We'd see a lot more comfort wear.

[copelli21]

10:53 AM on 11/02/2010

Uh, the flats look great!

Why women kill themselves in these heels, I will never understand.

I'd rather be able to walk on my own 2 God-given feet without a back brace when I am 70, than feed the vanity now.

[Exene]

02:54 PM on 11/02/2010

Everything in moderation. Most days, I wear comfortable shoes, but when I dress up, give me the heels!

[bettyx1138]

09:18 AM on 11/02/2010

i've always thought that in the future people will back on heels as we look back on corsets.

[ameal]

08:19 AM on 12/01/2010

That's something to think about! Then there are my 100 + shoes at home, its too difficult to contemplate... Rather stay in denial with my beautiful heels.

[Jazz88105]

08:21 AM on 11/02/2010

Bravo Mr. Elbaz !

[clabberty]

07:51 AM on 11/02/2010

I salute this designer for realizing what was wrong and finding these ladies some nice comfortable shoes instead. What a refreshing change. Now, if only Elbaz would have some models who look well fed, as he clearly looks himself, that would be the icing on the cake.

[SocialistBoy]

01:31 AM on 11/02/2010

Hum m! I never could wear heels! I should try em sober -one of this days!!

[gguy]

01:26 AM on 11/02/2010

Leaving the look of the shoes, their ridiculousness, or their comfort aside, aren't high fashion models supposed to know how to walk in any kind of footwear, at least for the few seconds it takes to walk back and forth on a runway? It seems like that would be a prerequisite and whether they are hired back or not. BTW: I've seen drag queens do back flips in four inch strappy sandals and land squarely on their feet, all while not losing a beat or a lip synched lyric. That's professionalism!

[catriley]

01:12 AM on 11/02/2010

I always feel so sad for girls and women wearing a shoe with anything over a 3 1/2" heel. you just can't walk in them. Sorry. You look like someone wearing stilts in a parade, or some type of animal with broken legs. Not sexy. Not hot. Looks ridiculous. You know when you laugh at a girl walking by you in super high heels because she walks like she has something stuck up her rear end? That's how you walk, too. You can't help it. Bodies are not engineered to walk in giant heels. Period.

Oh, and be assured that you will be a frequent flyer at your chiropractor and podiatrist in a few years. Why abuse yourself to look silly? A nice walk is sexy... looking like a penguin in a leg cast, is not. Just say no to the stupid shoes, and let them die off as a trend. Notice the people designing them don't wear them?

[janejoad]

12:37 AM on 11/02/2010

That's cuz they SUCK.