Still Standing: War Boots

Boots were an obvious thing I wanted to include in my work. I looked in a few different places: a charity shop, online and on vinted. Charity shops were unsuccessful, and the online shops were out of the budget I was putting in for the boots. Ultimately, I decided vinted had much cheaper options and fit in well as they are old, used and once belonged to someone.

I was happy with how they looked when they arrived but had to further destroy and distort them myself. To begin, I cut through the leather to create a gash down the outer side of the boot. I wanted to dramatize and accentuate the destruction and damage caused from the war.

Developing further, I have removed the laces and have sewn into the shoe. I have chosen red as an impactful, bright colour representing passion, love, power and danger, and the colour heavily contrasting against the dull, sorrow colours of the shoe itself. One obstacle I have found is the toughness of the leather, stopping the needle from going through and therefore having to work with the natural holes in the design of the shoe.