Hydraulic heels for tired soles

London: It's a lesson women the world over have had to learn the hard way. Wear the wrong pair of high heels, and that fierce strut could be transformed into a weak hobble within hours.

Now one Barcelona-born artist has come up with a solution that could prevent women from kicking off their heels in frustration.

London-based Silvia Fado Moreno has developed something known as ‘hydraulic heels' that use springs, pneumatics, and rubber balls to help cushion each step.

The London College of Fashion graduate developed her designs as part of the Kinetic Traces collection. "I wanted to create pieces of art based in a functional concept, using high technology processes and handcrafting," she said.

"Technically, the challenges were to achieve the quantity of the movement required according to the body weight, without losing stability."

The graduate took a look at impact absorption, studying traction, durability and shoe weight, before adding different springs, rubber components, pneumatic hydraulics and metal rings.

As the wearer takes a step, each of these components works together under their body weight to create a natural balance in movement.