I’m intrigued by strange beautiful shoes that speak to the illusion, the fantasy worlds that shoes can create, tiny little microcosms of shape, fabric, construction enshrouding your feet in mystery. Pierre Hardy is a designer who truly does that for me, going beyond pretty or elegant to bring attention to your gorgeous feet while also playing with hiding them, which isn’t that the most seductive?

I mean, what is this shoe, a reenactment of Where the Wild Things Are in shoe form or Monet’s Giverny garden topped by Basquiat’s crown? Pierre Hardy makes shoes that are the stuff of dreams.

And what is this, a ballpoint pen or a sleek black gun from a Bond film that can transform into a dagger, or is it an architectural sendup to Frank Gehry? Surely it’s not a shoe, because I can’t imagine that’s its only function.

This beauty speaks volumes to me, making me think of David Lynch’s film Blue Velvet instantaneously, and the soft-fabric-meets-hard-lines is a fantastic contrast.

I was a bit disappointed by Hardy’s shoes for the Gap, but it’s the Gap, so they were simple flats and platform sandals. I don’t know what I was expecting.

Someday, I swear I will own a pair of Nicolas Ghesquiere’s wild Balenciaga shoes, which sometimes reach that level of creating fantasy and strange shapes, especially in the case of the grey leather and rubber boot below. And I will learn to walk in them properly. My favorites from the previous season may someday be on sale online, but I’m not holding my breath since you seldom find them on sale. To look back at our post on wild Balenciaga shoes for Spring 2009, go here.

What are your favorite wild shoes? McQueen’s amber heeled high boots?

Marc Jacobs for Vuitton’s strangely attractive Native American feathered tasseled cutouts?

Scherer Gonzalez’ clear floral platforms?

Posh’s heelless Antonio boots?

Sometimes, I see the world through the lens of shoes, and that lens is definitely dreamy and rose-colored. But it’s just that great shoes transport you to another world where things aren’t so black and white! I’m on the lookout for the next impractically beautiful Pierre Hardy!