High Heels

Heels

I believe that designers can start or direct a trend, whether it is visual or conceptual, but it is up to the user to determine the meaning to the object. In the case of high heels, the design started out as a form of empowerment for woman, then that changed to a form of domination over woman. Now woman wear heals for whatever reason they want. You could have two women who wear the same shoe for very different reasons. One could be a conservative businesswoman wearing a black suit, and the other could be the opposite, wearing a mini skirt with facial piercing and rainbow hair. Both woman play different roles in society, both ware the same shoe. In this case the designer made the shoe with their aesthetic and preferred use, but it is the end user that dictates the final style of the shoe. You could say that a designer suggests a use for their product, but does not have the final say. When you sell a product you do not come with it to show how to properly use it, there may even be instructions, but how often done one even read them. How often have you seen some one sitting on a chair cross-legged, when it was designed to have both feet on the ground? This is the same thing. I do not believe that designers need to enforce how products are used; this allows people to define who they are as individuals.