In an absurd but awesome turn of events, three new pairs of Alexander McQueen‘s fantastical 12-inch-heel “Armadillo Boots” will be auctioned this week to raise money for the victims of the recent earthquakes in Nepal.
The house has manufactured the shoes specially for the auction, which is currently underway at Christie’s. (Bid here until July 23.) According to The Daily Beast, each pair of shoes is handcrafted in Italy from wood and python skin, during a process that requires 30 days and five people. This fact, combined with the shoes’ wonderfully freaky but orthopedically terrifying silhouette obviously give them limited commercial appeal. Until now, only 21 pairs had ever been produced. But the Armadillo is a design classic, dreamed up by Lee McQueen himself for his spring/summer 10 “Plato’s Atlantis” collection. Several pairs are currently on show at the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition at the V&A in London.
If you want to cop your very own pair, you have 8 days and 22 hours to come up with at least $10,000, the starting bid. All profits from the sale will go to U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support the organization’s efforts in Nepal.
Related: The Best of Alexander McQueen in i-D
Credits
Text Alice Newell-Hanson
Image courtesy Christie’s