Scary Beautiful front-heeled shoes designed by Leanie van der Vyver

Lady Gaga is notorious for her love of outlandish heels so she will probably be in the front of the fashionista queue to get her hands on the latest pair of fantastical footwear.

The “front heel” Scary Beautiful shoes were designed by South African student artist Leanie van der Vyver as a critique on the fashion industry’s quest for perfection.

Dutch shoe maker René van den Berg fabricated the wacky design, which landed designer Leanie van der Vyver a nomination for the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld design prize at her university in Holland.

Leanie van der Vyver, from Cape Town, South Africa designed the pair as her graduation project at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.

“I wrote my Thesis about how humans have been playing God with their bodies, constantly searching for the ultimate perfection and I discovered that this perfection has reached a climax in the fashion and beauty industry. Heels can not get higher any higher,” she said.

“This design might seem quirky and fun, but it is firstly a critique on how the fashion and beauty industry disregards the human body in it’s constant reinvention of the <<new extreme>>. The shoes are literally an illustration of what lies beyond this aspirational perfection.

“Humans are Playing God by physically and metaphorically perfecting themselves.

“Beauty is currently at an all time climax, allowing this project to explore what lies beyond perfection.

“Scary Beautiful challenges current beauty ideals by inflicting an unexpected new beauty standard,” she said.

Leanie van der Vyver’s avant-garde design might seem extreme, but they join a growing list of the out-there designs adored by eccentric celebrities like Lady Gaga, including Noritaka Tatehana’s heel-less shoes to Alexander McQueen’s gravity-defying creations.

“This work is ambiguous, and I enjoy the mixed feelings it is provoking in people who see them. This was always my intention,” added Leanie van der Vyver.