I keep coming across various orthopedic fashion images. Is this the beginning of an explosion? Or will it remain subversive? I guess we have long passed the tipping point of body mod with tattoos, piercings, scarification, etc. It's time for the next extreme that mainstream society is not at all ready for. I find it to be one of the most fascinating and compelling ideas in a long time. Being completely entrenched in avant garde and alternative fashion, this is a theme that I can't stop thinking about and wrapping my head around. 

It is an interesting proposition to sexualize what has long been considered a handicap. Leading the way is Designer Egle Cekanaviciute of Artefact, who has posted her inspiration pages and therefore given us a glimpse into the thought process. She includes extreme orthopedic shoes, braces and crutches that have long been considered the objects of unfortunate health or birth defects and raises them to a new level of fashionable expression. 

Although it's not that far off from the fetishising of the corset throughout recent history, now is it?

 Image: Ellen Von Unworth

Maybe she sums up the answer to my ponderings best:

"It's all about fitting the body to the 'right' shape. The difference between the two fields is that tailoring is much more aesthetically acceptable and appreciated than orthopaedia, even though the latter is inevitable, and needed everyday.

Just look around. It's all around you."

I will be.

images from eglecekanavicute.com

Images found via Tumblr:

(Above also by Artefact)