The Black Widow by Julian Hakes

Julian Hakes, the London-based designer recently teamed up with Disney’s Marvel Entertainment LLC to produce a superhero-worthy women’s sandal inspired by the film ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, which hits theaters these days.




Julian Hakes: ‘This latest collaboration with Marvel for Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the perfect opportunity to create a brand new and unique shoe style. I wanted to create a fusion between traditional footwear and the high tech modern world. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier we see Steve Rogers reunited with his S.H.I.E.L.D colleague Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. I therefore decided to call this new shoe style the Black Widow edition. I imagined how Natasha might wear the shoes undercover but then at a moment’s notice she could use them as an effective weapon.’

David Lee, Footwear Director for The Walt Disney Company EMEA added, ‘Our continued relationship with Julian Hakes reinforces Marvel’s position as an inspiration for designers and fashion innovators. The unique storytelling Marvel offers is a testament to this new design that Hakes has engineered. This shoe not only showcases Hakes’ unique, innovative and evolving style it is also fashion-forward and exciting.’

The star-shaped heel is milled from a solid piece of aluminium using a high frequency electric process. This process and material choice gives the heel great strength and lightness that is a signature material property of Captain America’s ‘vibranium’ shield. The shoe has sawtooth sole. It will be available in spring 2015.

About Julian Hakes
Creative Director of Julian Hakes London and Design Director of Hakes. Architects, Bridge Designers, Based in Europe working internationally.
Hakes’ shoe collections have been widely recognised across the globe. His ‘Mojito’ shoe has won several prestigious awards including the Drapers Shoe Designer of the Year award in 2012.

About Captain America: The Winter Solider
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy the Winter Soldier.

More shoes by Julian Hakes at the Virtual Shoe Museum.