Shoes have provided essential protection for our feet ever since ancient times but their
design has rarely been inspired simply by comfort or necessity. Beautifully decorated,
hand-crafted and employing expensive materials, they have also represented important
markers of status, identity, taste and even sexuality. Some, like Medieval poulaines
with their elaborately elongated toes, and Venetian chopines with their 22 inch
platforms, epitomised the triumph of fashion over practicality.