SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film recently debuted the exhibition, “Form & Function: Shoe Art” By Chris Francis, on view until December 8.
Chris Francis is a shoe designer based in Los Angeles who experiments the shape, theme, color and technique possibilities of footwear design. The designer started out making shoes for his wife in a garage with found objects.
Fast forward several years into his career and Francis was found working in collaboration with a boutique in France. After making a number of prototypes, he decided he was no longer interested in mass production — he wanted to be a small, individual shoe producer.
He is heavily influenced by the 20th century Bauhaus school of design, which leads to the creation of uncommon shoe designs. The exhibition contains designs that go over culture, politics, punk, Bauhaus, mass products and music.
In the boots pictured below, one can find materials such as wood, leather, rubber and scrap leather. The shoe on the left, “Rockets Redglare,” was created in 2016 for musician Jesse Jo Stark. The artist notes, “Custom shoe orders financially support my shop and often become creative pursuits.”
Another of Francis’ artworks is a pair of shoes named ‘Still Ain’t Satisfied,’ made of wood, leather, metal chain, lock, plastic and rubber. These heels are a piece that fights for women’s rights such as equal pay, respect and rights. To complete the message, the artist added two arms holding each other.
Throughout the rest of the exhibition, viewers can take note of the ways in which Francis communicates his interpretation on popular, cultural and common concepts.
Photo by Valeria Brugueras. 
Photo by Valeria Brugueras. 
Photo by Valeria Brugueras. 
Photo by Valeria Brugueras.
With 114 shoes on view, visitors are transported into the limitless shoe world Chris Francis has been adventuring in.
