Most people cope with heartbreak in familiar ways—burning old keepsakes, indulging in tubs of ice cream, or drowning their sorrows in cocktails. Chilean-born, New York–based artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz took an entirely different—and far more provocative—approach.
Instead of retreating, he confronted his past by transforming it into art. His project, “12 Shoes for 12 Lovers,” is a sculptural shoe collection that pays homage to the women who once shaped his life but had since faded away. Each of the 12 designs represents a former romantic or sexual partner, reimagined in footwear form.
Artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz used twelve of his former lovers as the inspiration for each of these 3D-printed shoes
Digitally modeled and brought to life through 3D printing, the shoes were given cheeky nicknames and paired with anecdotes that reveal flashes of intimacy, personality, and conflict.
First unveiled at the Melissa pop-up gallery in Miami during Art Basel 2013, the exhibition blurred the boundaries between fashion, design, and autobiography.
Errazuriz framed the shoes not just as objects of desire but as intimate confessions, inviting viewers to reflect on their own relationships. Equal parts art installation, memoir, and social commentary, “12 Shoes for 12 Lovers” cemented his reputation as a designer who thrives on provocation and vulnerability.
The Honey: Sweetness and Fragility in Love
The Honey features a delicate honeycomb structure for the girlfriend who was “too nice.”
The ‘Honey’ wedges, inspired by Natasha, are crafted from a 3D-printed honeycomb structure that symbolizes her sweetness and warmth while echoing the fragility of love
The Cry Baby: Tears Frozen in Sculpture
The ‘Cry Baby’ wedges, inspired by Alexandra, freeze a dramatic splash of liquid in sculptural form—capturing the raw emotion and vulnerability of tears in a strikingly wearable piece of art
The Gold Digger: A Gilded Symbol of Desire
The Gold Digger balances on a gilded figure straining under the shoe’s weight, a metaphor for materialism and desire.
The ‘Gold Digger’ heels, inspired by Alison, feature a gilded figure straining under the weight of the shoe—an arresting metaphor for materialism, desire, and the burdens that come with chasing wealth
The Heart Breaker: Love Pierced by Passion
The Heart Breaker pierces scarlet stilettos with a bold arrow, while The Virgin stands atop a carved Virgin Mary figure.
The ‘Heart Breaker’ stilettos, inspired by Laura, pierce with a scarlet arrow through glossy red heels—an unapologetic symbol of passion, pain, and the sharp sting of love lost
The Ice Queen: Cold Beauty on Icy Spikes
The Ice Queen rises on jagged icicle heels to embody a frosty, distant lover.
Sebastian Errazuriz’s ‘Ice Queen’ shoe, designed with jagged edges resembling icy spikes, embodies the cold and distant nature of a former lover
Sebastian Errazuriz’s ‘Ice Queen’ heels, with icicle-like details, capture the frosty and unapproachable essence of a past relationship
The ‘Ice Queen’ pumps, inspired by Sophie, are sculpted with jagged icicle heels that embody a chilling elegance—capturing the cold, distant beauty of a love that left him frozen
Sebastian Errazuriz, who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from NYU, is a renowned artist and designer whose work blurs the lines between art, design, and technology.
Known for projects that challenge perception, he has showcased at museums like The Carnegie Museum of Art and collaborated on public art installations in Times Square. With a portfolio that includes tech-inspired art and political pieces, Errazuriz’s ’12 Shoes for 12 Lovers’ collection is one of many boundary-pushing projects that invite viewers to see hidden meanings in everyday designs.
Other Wildly Unique Shoe Creations
If Sebastian Errazuriz’s “12 Shoes for 12 Lovers” left you fascinated, you’ll love exploring more avant-garde and bizarre footwear designs that blur the line between fashion and art:
- 📌Weird but Wearable: 34 Unique Shoes That Defy Expectations — From broken-egg sandals to doll-head heels, discover 34 designs that blur fashion and fantasy.
- 📌 10 Weird and Wonderful Loewe Shoes — Balloon heels, cracked eggshell sandals, and more eccentric designs by Jonathan Anderson.
- 📌 Kobi Levi: The Footwear Genius Behind Lady Gaga — A look at Levi’s surreal shoe creatures, including those in Gaga’s “Born This Way” video.
- 📌 Andreia Chaves Invisible Shoes — $4,000 mirrored wedge boots that play with illusion, blending math, art, and fashion.