The aim of the Shoe and Tell project is to explore the shoe as an object of cultural and individual expression, and understand its role in the negotiation of identity.
Shoes have prominence in popular culture as transformative objects, evidenced through their presence in fairy tales, and their portrayal as symbols of desire in fashion and advertising. This research takes a nuanced approach to shoes by examining the place they hold in the everyday lives of individuals.
As worn objects shoes have a more intimate relationship with the body than clothes. How shoes feel and look on the feet has distinct bearings on the wearer’s physicality and their subsequent engagement with the world around them. The importance that shoes have in enabling the interpretation of individual identity through everyday life is central to this research.
Shoes & Identity 