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Custom Footwear

STAUD
Aqua Heels.

Clear platforms.
Navy letters. Real water.

Made for Sarah Staudinger.

One-off costume piece. Not for sale.

A foot wearing the clear STAUD heel, with water moving around the navy letters inside the platform.
Sarah Staudinger wearing her white-and-blue vase costume, filled with red flowers, and the clear water-filled STAUD heels.

LA Halloween is always special.

A vase needs
something to
stand on.

Sarah Staudinger takes Halloween seriously. This time, she became a walking vase of flowers: a blue-and-white dress, red blooms, and a pair of very clear platforms.

Egle Ona Paulauskaite designed the outfit and shoe concepts, then brought them to Thought Merchants to make them real.

We opened the platforms, 3D printed the navy STAUD letters, glued them inside, and added water. Then we sealed the footbeds back in place. The letters stay put. The water moves with every step.

Every side.

Crafting giant hallow heels with water is tricky business.

  • Water-filled platform
  • 3D-printed letters
  • Classic hooker heels: clear plastic construction.
  • Letters from the other side
  • Footbed resealed
  • Letters, seen edge-on
  • Original ankle strap
  • Original clear heel
01 / Outer side
Outer sideOuter side of the clear platform heel, with the STAUD lettering visible through the water.Water-filled platform3D-printed letters
02 / Inner side
Inner sideInner side of the heel, showing the back of the navy letters through the clear platform.Classic hooker heels:clear plastic construction.Letters from the other side
03 / Front
FrontFront view of the heel. The narrow edge of the navy lettering is visible inside the platform.Footbed resealedLetters, seen edge-on
04 / Back
BackRear view of the clear heel and ankle strap, with the platform and lettering visible behind the stiletto.Original ankle strapOriginal clear heel

Out of the studio.
Into the night.

Sarah Staudinger, in full bloom.
The finished costume.

Sarah on Instagram The original post
Sarah Staudinger wearing the blue-and-white vase costume with red flowers and the clear STAUD heels.
The full vase costume and custom heels, photographed against a wood-paneled wall.
The flower-filled vase costume and clear heels alongside a green crocodile costume.
A close-up of Sarah surrounded by the red flowers at the top of the vase costume.
A white watering can with navy STAUD Florals lettering, carried with the costume.
Final adjustments to the vase costume under an umbrella before heading out.

Costume photographs from @staud.

From the design studio in Venice.

Opened up.
Built back.

Water tight sealing plastic on plastic that expects impact took some finesse.

A steel ruler measuring the clear platform on the workshop bench.
01

Make room.

Open the platform and measure the space for the letters.

Navy 3D-printed STAUD letters placed inside the opened platform.
02

Print and place.

3D print the STAUD letters in navy, then use CA glue to place them inside.

Both heels on the workbench during assembly, with one footbed clamped in place.
03

Fill and seal.

Add water, waterproof the opening, and secure the footbed.

The water-filled platform held upside down to check the seal.
04

Turn it upside down.

I found a leak so we needed to be sure it was watertight.

The Thought Merchants workshop, with both clear heels clamped on the central workbench during fabrication.
Made in the studio in Venice, California.