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Why is it so difficult to make a comfortable heel? Why can’t we Louboutin and Nike have a baby?

Here are some things you need to know when looking for comfortable heels.

There are two broad categories of why it is so challenging to make heels comfortable. First, it is about physics and second it is about proper fit.

The physics problem is actually easier to deal with. In a 3 inch heel only 20% of the foot is in contact with the shoe. Pressure is concentrated in the ball joint of the foot (metatarsal) and the heel (calcaneus). In physics the formula is Pressure= Force/surface area. With the surface area reduced to 20% it is logical that pressure is greatly increased. Enrico Cuini invented ALIA which stands for Active Lift In Alignment to increase the surface area in contact with the foot and therefore reducing the pressure felt particular at the metatarsal joint. A high heel is also challenging to wear especially if the heel is thin because it feels unstable. ALIA gives more stability because of the shape which curves to support all three arches of the mid foot: medial, lateral and transverse. The dome of the foot is supported properly by addressing all three elements of the dome instead of only supporting the medial arch which is in standard orthotics. ALIA also promotes stability by having increased surface area in contact with the sole and therefore touching more proprioceptive receptors to providing the brain feedback about where the body is in space. Lastly, ALIA also provides better energy return because it is in touch with the foot and responds dynamically over the gait cycle by opening up upon weight bearing and releasing the energy stored in the motion reducing dissipation of energy. All of these features makes a shoe built with ALIA technology more comfortable especially high heels.

In a high heel it is critical that the fit is precise because the upper of the shoe must block the foot from sliding forward into the toe box due to the effect of gravity. The current way that shoes are sold after mass production of one standard “size” is not conducive to a good fit. First let’s look at the sizing system. The current size system only measures length and a few brands offer different widths. The status quo does not take into account the various different volume of the foot or different proportions. People buy shoes by seeing what is the closest they can find to fit them and rarely is it precise. An example is that two people can have the exact same length of foot but one is very sleek and narrow while the other is more broad. There are also many other potential proportion variations.

The current market sells mass produced shoes based on volume and shape that this based on a tradition of western foot types since designer shoes mostly come from Italy. The entire world full of different proportions and volume must try to make due with what is available. It is too expensive for brands to offer the multitudes of options to fit a population properly. Stores cannot possibly carry the vast amount of inventory needed and it would be too complex to teach sales associates how to properly size a customer if one has to consider more than just length. These are all big challenges and limitations of the current retail system.

At Enrico Cuini we strive the make the most comfortable heels in the world even in sexy high stilettos. Therefore we created an entirely new way of selling shoes. Our shoes are made to order and made to the specifications of your feet. This would insure the most precise fit. We offer 32 different standard options and customizations to accommodate your unique feet. If necessary we can also make an entirely custom shoe for you. Prices vary based on the amount of work required. We have created a sophisticated measuring system using image recognition and AI to avoid the difficulty of training sales staff. You can buy shoes online and send in photos of your feet to be analyzed or book a virtual fitting on Zoom. We also have live events around the country.

In the future for retailers who would like to represent our brand, our technology will aid in determining best size options and the data will help improve inventory mix. Our clients are happy to wait 4-6 weeks for their shoes because they no longer need to wonder “what is my size?’ The proper answer is “YOUR size”.

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