Wearers know that high heels twist the big toe, cram the rest forward and can be counted on for discomfort. At the same time, high heels can be relied on for a hint of executive authority, or to raise shorter women to the height of their peers, or for a fashionable leggy look. And there is no denying the movie-star glamour and sexiness of stilettos and stilts.

In 2001 former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos opened a museum that displays her own footwear – hundreds of pairs of designer shoes by Ferragamo, Givenchy, Chanel, Christian Dior and others. And for shoe fetishists there is the High Heel Shoe Museum, an online facility that can be enjoyed in private.

As reported in the Taiwan news item, more brands are marketing air-cushioned high heels or walking high heels. The Spanish brand, Camper, has introduced the Minie -- named after Mickey Mouse’s wife. The series features "ergonomically-designed" insoles and a 2-inch heel of synthetic rubber, and aims to add elegance and chic to Camper lines.

With a similar aim, the Taiwanese brand, La New, plans to introduce "air-cushioned high heels" for their 2005 spring and summer lines. The series provides elasticity and absorbs shocks to the heel.

Award-winning Convertibles are still at the concept stage, but they, or shoes inspired by them, are expected to be on the market soon. Presented on the Australian Design Award web as a "healthy high heel," the fashion sandals and pumps will be sold with a set of detachable twist-on heels in varying heights from 3 inches down to 1 inch that can be swapped to suit every occasion.

While La New claims its shoes just as sexy as regular fashion lines and less painful, it is careful about its language. According to the company's vice president, Kuo hsin-cheng, it is impossible to produce a pair of entirely harmless high-heeled shoes. "We can only try to buffer gravity by more refined calculations on the structure and other details of a shoe," he said.

It may be years before the health impact of the innovative shoes can be evaluated. For the present there is wide, though not universal, agreement that women’s first choice for formal and dress occasions – and work – is anything but harmless. A report from the American Podiatric Medical Association, echoed by similar professional associations, describes high heels as "biomechanically and orthopedically unsound." In the British medical journal The Lancet, a group of Massachusetts researchers blamed high heels for knee arthritis among women – an ailment twice as common among women as men.

The professionals who deal with the long-term impact of high heels on women’s health may choose to remain skeptical about the new designs, even while they welcome the pursuit of healthier foot glamour.

Sources: Taipei Times, American Podiatric Medical Association, Australian Design Awards, American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, The Lancet, BBC