"Relief from high heel disco misery" and further discussion on the designer's quest to sell comfort

     Early this morning I stumbled upon a news clip that sparked my interest. Isabella Fendt, a resident of Germany, has recently invented the ballet flat vending machine. This machine, as explained in the video, supplies woman with a cheap ($12) alternative to going bare foot at a night club when her heels hurt to much. This design may come off as a bit ridiculous, but Miss Fendt is on to something. By placing her machine in places where her target audience will most likely be intoxicated, and thus have low inhibition, woman are likely to shell out their money in exchange for quick, accessible comfort.  
     As the news anchor begs in the clip, "why even wear heels?". The answer is simple, they make a woman feel good. What blows my mind is that women are willing to go to great lengths to keep themselves high-standing. Their heels alone might cost them a pretty penny, but now woman are spending even more on costly add-on's to maximize heel comfort. 
     Both Isabella Fendt and companies like Dr.Scholl's are true masterminds. They have taken the truth that woman have and always will wear heel's, regardless of pain, and in response have designed things to supposedly combat this "problem". Their plan is foolproof, women will buy these things. They see an advertisement for "no more heel pain" and they jump on any or all opportunities to decrease the torture they put their feet through. 
     Where Fendt's design trumps Dr.Scholl's and similar companies products, is in the vending machine's accessibility. Now a woman does not even have to plan ahead to prevent her heel pain, she simply has the luxury of buying "cheap" shoes to replace her uncomfortable one's when her feet have met their breaking point. Women will spend their money on comfort, as long as they can look fabulous in the process! 


Cred:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2010/10/17/disco.shoes.machine.cnn
http://www.sololisa.com/2009/03/how-to-make-high-heels-comfortable.html