Is the $10,000 pair of boots worth it?

At 21, I lusted after a pair of Gucci black pumps with their signature horse bit buckle. It was when Tom Ford was the Italian luxury brand’s creative director, and everything Gucci was like gold dust. And so I saved up my earnings from my Saturday job at a fashion boutique on the high street near where I lived in London. After over a month, I could afford to hop on to the bus, and jump off at the stop closest to Bond Street and finally buy my dream shoes. I wore them that very Saturday night to a friend’s house, and it was truly my Cinderella moment.

This was 1994. Cut to today, I receive a message from a friend asking me if I could find out if the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) store in Dubai has some boots she has an eye on. I wanted to reply, “please don’t be such a fashion victim”, but decided to refrain from doing so. I am, of course, talking about the $10,000 handmade boots with 3,000 crystal stones on each shoe. They are the “it shoe” of the season — Rihanna has worn them and so has Celine Dion and Kendall Jenner.

There was a time when you could buy a pair of designer shoes at around $200. So if you could not afford a dress or bag from a designer, but still felt that urge to own something from the collection, shoes were often the best option. But, today, a regular pair of designer shoes will set you back around $800, which already seems a little too much to me, even though I am a complete fashion girl. But these YSL boots have taken it to a new level.

My one regret about my Gucci shoes was that I did not store them well. With their capped toe and kitten

Today, a regular pair of designer shoes will set you back around $800, which already seems a little too much to me, even though I am a complete fashion girl heel, I could have still worn them today. They were true lifetime investments. But, these YSL boots! Well, to start with, boots are seasonal, and with all those stones, they make such a statement. However, how often can you really wear them? And you know that by next Fall, they are going to be “so last year.” Of course, though, if you want these boots right now, you will have to get on a waiting list, as they are literally walking out of Yves Saint Laurent Stores worldwide.

It’s a very clever move by YSL’s new creative director, Anthony Vaccarello — these boots make a statement thanks to the look and price and ensures that everyone knows there is a new era at the French fashion house. Part of YSL’s Fall 2017 collection, it is the Belgian designer’s second collection for them. Truly a creative talent to watch out for. At just 27, it seems to me that Vaccarello is aware that he is very much a part of a big fashion conglomerate. (YSL is part of the Kering Group. They also own Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and other well-known fashion, leather, jewellery and watch brands).

Creating an “It” item is a sure way to ensure your label is the one everyone is talking about. And, of course, everyone from Asos to Steve Madden has their cheaper “me too” versions. That just proves that these are shoes of the moment.

But what these boots say to me is that fashion has perhaps lost its perceptive on what is real. Yes, they are handmade, but do these boots really look like they are truly crafted, with all that bling just thrown on them? —sujata@khaleejtimes.com

Sujata Assomull is Consulting Fashion Editor at Khaleej Times