# Taxidermy Footwear Iris Schieferstein's Bizarre Horse Hoof Boots (UPDATE) By Cowbag | Published 2009-05-09 | Unique Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/iris-schieferstein References: [iris-schieferstein.de](http://www.iris-schieferstein.de/start.html) There are pony shoes (see related trends below), and there are *real* pony shoes like this macabre pair of footwear from designer Iris Schieferstein. They are a pair of hollowed-out horse hooves that have been outfitted with a zip-up leg. This is an extreme fusion of fashion and taxidermy. As horrifying as these shoes may be to horse lovers, they really are the icing on the cake of her [macabre dead animal creations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/horrific-crocs). I also adore her long horse tails, which are again made from [real horse hair](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/black-pony-hair). ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.0/10 - Popularity: 87% | Activity: 86% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 10% men, 90% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Unique](https://www.trendhunter.com/unique) > [Bizarre](https://www.trendhunter.com/bizarre) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Macabre Fashion:** There is an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the industry of fashion by exploring the boundaries of human acceptance and creating macabre fashion alternatives. - **Animal-inspired Fashion:** Designers can take inspiration from different animals to create unique fashion pieces, such as the use of horse hooves in footwear design. - **Sustainable Fashion:** Exploring the use of animal parts in fashion design could lead to creating sustainable fashion alternatives by utilizing animal by-products to minimize waste. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Fashion:** The fashion industry can capitalize on unique and unconventional designs inspired by animals or utilizing animal by-products to create sustainable fashion lines. - **Taxidermy:** There is an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the taxidermy industry by exploring the integration of taxidermy into fashion design. - **Animal By-products:** The animal by-products industry could explore new ways to utilize animal parts and materials to create sustainable fashion alternatives or other unique products. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Charitable Horse Sneakers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/horse-kicks.md) - [Eye-Adorned Furry Mules](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/eyeball-mules.md) - [Bird Feather-Inspired Boots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kiss-boots.md) - [Gritty Rodent-Inspired Boots](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ratboot.md) - [Bigfoot-Inspired Bizarre Footwear](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ninlo.md) - [Cow Print High-Top Shoes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/rasant-mid.md) - [Fuzzy Dynamic Collaborative Footwear](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/five-finger-shoe.md) - [Electric Truck Shoe Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/footwear-project.md) - [Stealthy Textural Lifestyle Sneakers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/black-pony-hair.md)