This design’s got sole.
Brooklyn-based brand Syro, known for crafting fiercely femme footwear favored by gender-bending A-listers like Lil Nas X, Bowen Yang and Sam Smith, has debuted a daring stiletto purse, complete with a 4-inch, silver-cast heel.
While the heel-handbag hybrid may not be made for walking, the striking accessory, retailing for $375, is a spacious size 43 — leaving plenty of room to tote the essentials.
The bold bag is a first for the foot-forward brand, with the likes of Julia Fox already seen strolling the streets of NYC with one of her own — the same streets, incidentally, where brand co-founder Henry Bae first found inspiration in the form of a woman with a DIY backpack made from a knee-high stiletto.
The calf skin shoulder bag — available for pre-order in croc-embossed metallic, textured black and a smooth, “rustic brown” — also pays homage to the transgender community, and the Colorado Springs trans woman who fought back against the Club Q shooter last year, using her high heels as a weapon.
“That’s when I was reenergized to express the unapologetic femininity and queerness that Syro has stood for since the beginning,” said Bae.
The experiences of queer individuals have long been the brand’s muse. Their mission, they told Vogue, is to deploy the “c–t” and “camp” accessories — that is to say, fabulously eccentric and fashionably exaggerated — as “weapons of mass feminization.”
That said, the bag is meant for everyone.
“It fits anyone and their needs,” Syro co-founder Shaobo Han told Vogue.
And while Syro is not necessarily reinventing the wheel — see: Balenciaga’s FW22 Le Cagole Boot Bag ($3,250) and the luxe brand’s SS24 tote modeled after a pair of upper-crust galoshes — the brand has managed to make their rendition of the boot bag chic and functional, with just a touch of drama.
In that way, the versatile must-have is unlike the avant-garde spectacles of some luxury pieces, such as Balenciaga’s tote with a built-in glove or carry-all akin to a trash bag.
“What we did here is marry camp with sophistication with functionality,” Han said. “It can be an expression of your authentic everyday style rather than a costume, gimmick, or an accessory for a special occasion.”