The view from the top: as sure as a boomerang, the platform shoe returns this spring

Interview, Feb, 2005 by Annabel Tollman

The platform, the long-standing shoe of choice for glam rockers, geishas, and the vertically challenged alike, is the undisputed winner in this spring's fashionable footwear stakes. Introduced in the late 1400s as an overshoe to protect a daintier inner one, the platform celebrated its first comeback in the late 1930s and early 1940s. (In response to the wartime scarcity of leather, this version was crafted from cork or wood.) In 1971, Yves Saint Laurent's Forties collection rekindled the fashion world's love of the platform, which has flickered in and out of vogue ever since. Now it's turning up again on the catwalks. Featured in the spring 2005 collections of Anna Molinari, Sportmax, Dior, and D&G, the platform proves a welcome alternative for those of us who are jaded by the enduring popularity of the stiletto heel. There is one caveat, however: Vertigo sufferers and heavy drinkers may want to stick to flats.

Annabel Tollman is Interview's fashion director.