London - If the fashion world is to be believed, no woman has a chance of being sexy without a towering pair of high heels.
Catherine Deneuve, however, begs to differ – and as one of film’s all-time sex symbols, she is fairly well qualified to advise.
The French actress said mid-heels are much more alluring, and blamed ‘twisted’ designers for the modern obsession with five-inch heels that are impossible to walk in.
Their most famous devotees include Victoria Beckham and Sarah Jessica Parker, whose Sex And The City character, Carrie, is almost never seen in flat shoes.
Deneuve, 69, described the trend as an “aberration”, and said simple shoes helped women feel “emancipated”.
She said she deliberately chose heels “that weren’t too high” for her portrayal of Séverine Serizy, a bourgeois housewife who turns to prostitution in Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film Belle de Jour. She opted for mid-height, block-heeled, Roger Vivier courts, which initially received a frosty reception from audiences and fashion experts.
But they eventually became a huge hit. Vivier sold 200 000 pairs in one year alone to customers including Jackie Onassis and the Duchess of Windsor.
In a new book on Vivier, Deneuve explained why she decided to forgo high heels.
She said: “One cannot walk properly in very high heels. But also, we believed in an idea that no longer means anything for people today: that having a natural allure was the most important thing. That’s what counted most for all of us.”
She added that the trend for such shoes ad nothing to do with what women actually want.
Deneuve said:”It’s something that comes out of a slightly twisted desire, which, for that matter, makes for a rather twisted way of walking. I suspect that it has its origins in the minds of the designers, designers who have pushed the limits, who were imagining an extreme woman.
“Everyone has fallen for it, women’s magazines first and foremost. Nowadays, a silhouette must be strong; it must create an effect, make an impact – all these powerful words.”
She added that demure heels, which feature in the spring/summer 2013 collections of Lanvin and Prada, can be far more alluring.
Deneuve said: “A simple, well-made shoe with the perfect arch is such a pleasure.
“It makes us walk differently; we feel free, emancipated, as if we can deal with life’s challenges. You must remember that in the 1960s, high-heeled shoes were for women of ill repute. They were reserved for those who were obliged by their profession to live up to a caricature.
“Do women today really want to make caricatures of themselves?” - Daily Mail