JULIAN LOUIE for ALDO

The story behind the shoe collection from Julian Louie for Aldo follows the narrative behind Louie's S/S11 collection, taking its cue from the book 'The Hyena & Other Men'. Photographed by Pieter Hugo, the images are an intriguing collection of a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. Based on the tradition passed over from generation to generation where the animals are used for entertainment and to sell traditional medicines, the tactile mix of texture and fabrics in the shoes reflects the overwhelming spectacle of these performers and the objects of their craft. Louie's interest in the marred relation between the urban and the wild shows through the sometimes doting, sometimes brute designs that are reflexive of this paradoxical relationship.

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