HI just thought I'd give an update to this thread ...http://prince.org/msg/7/343185 ...some of you might be interested to hear what happened next!

These are the original shoe lasts which were used to make Prince's iconic zip boots from 1990 to 2000! They were used to make hundreds of pairs over that decade. Well, earlier last year I bid for these on eBay and was unbelievably lucky to have won them.

It turned out the shoemaker, Cos Kyriacou, works and lives just around the corner from me so we struck up a friendship - he is now based in north London and is specialising in fetish footwear - some amazing creations in his workshop! Here is an article about his work which was featured in The Sunday Times Magazine 18 October 1992 http://www.servimg.com/view/18893429/92

Basically, Prince was using a Los Angeles based shoemaker called Andre#1 but was having problems with the heels coming loose from the punishment he was giving them dancing on stage in heels. He came over to London for the Nude tour and took a pair of the shoes to Cos to repair. The heel had broken off again and Prince was looking for a solution. Cos immediately told him he could design something to strengthen the heel and he created the steel heel support which has now become an iconic part of Prince's style. He made up a pair, Prince liked it and immediately started commissioning further pairs of shoes from Cos - it went from there and from 1990 to 2000, Cos made his shoes pretty much exclusively, meticulously coordinated to inhouse designs by Paisley Park, and occasionally other designers Prince worked with, like Versace. So that's from just before Diamonds & Pearls era, Act 1 tour, Hits era, Come, Gold Experience, Glam Slam, wedding to Mayte, Emancipation, Rave.... all those iconic outfits had shoes designed by Cos using these shoe lasts!!

http://ernestsewell.com/post/2320878304 http://ernestsewell.com/post/1656664839

Well, he has some awesome stories about how the contract with Paisley Park was set up and his dealings with them over the years. He is such a nice guy - amazingly humble considering he has worked with people like Prince & Versace!! He has recently moved premises so he just decided to clear out some clutter and I think there has been an element of wanting to draw a line under the past - hence selling the lasts. He seemed happy about selling them and was pleased they were going to a true fan! The lasts are incredibly beautiful and tactile - they have been sculpted out of wood, leather and metal to Prince's precise measurements and were built up, adjusted and developed over the years from Prince's requirements. A real piece of art & purple history! Two other sets of lasts were made from this original set, purely due to the volume of pairs of shoes that Prince was ordering. I understand these two sets are also in the hands of Prince fans.

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Prince always took it to the max where his art was concerned. Despite the pain he was suffering and the injuries he was sustaining, he continued to wear his heeled boots day and night, on stage and off, always presented immaculately and on point, embodying his artistic vision to the full. As we now know, this led to hip surgery in the early 2000s, and subsequently to his use of the pain-controlling drugs which were responsible for him being taken from us far too soon in 2016. It is so heartbreaking.

So for me, these lasts are now a symbol of Prince's commitment to his art; and the ultimate sacrifice he made to it, always giving 100% in the name of artistic integrity.

I treasure them.

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Wow that is amazing - what a wonderful thing to have and to be able to speak to the shoe maker as well. Fabulous.

great story.

PS what shoe size is he?

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Dandroppedadime said:

great story.

PS what shoe size is he?

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UK 4.5 which is US size 6

wow he's got small feet. I suppose it's relative to his height!

thanks for the info.

You could make a glass box for display

Seriously, that is beautiful though, great piece of music history. Lucky!

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NinaB said:

Very cool! I remember reading about his shoes being made here in London, Savile Row wasn't it?

I think Cos K was based in Old Street EC1 around that time, but they have changed names a couple of times at least since (Leatherworks, Fabulously Fetish) and have just moved from a workshop in Southgate to one in Barnet.

kenkamken said:

You could make a glass box for display

Seriously, that is beautiful though, great piece of music history. Lucky!

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hmmmm.... not quite but I have made up some purple velvet lined presentation boxes!

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Wait, what's the third pair? Plain black, leopard print and?

Great story....congrats to you!

I love the black ones.

dandan said:

Wait, what's the third pair? Plain black, leopard print and?

I got two pairs of black

Has anyone got any photos of him wearing leopard print shoes?

We have the same shoe size (If there is a difference between male and female shoes?? Idek man I never checked) awww

I was waking past some shops the other day and noticed they had the same style of shoes Prince wears on sale and I'm so tempted to go buy a pair

Wow...

Such a cool thread, jamiestarr!!!

That's probably the number 1 Prince memorabilia I would love to have hands down.

JamieStarr1uk, I remeber you posting a similar story on Facebook. Must be cool to have and a great conversation piece.

joyinrepetition said:

That's probably the number 1 Prince memorabilia I would love to have hands down.

JamieStarr1uk, I remeber you posting a similar story on Facebook. Must be cool to have and a great conversation piece.

yeah I kinda feel honoured to have them!

Did he shorten the heal over time?

Because in the 80's the heel looked a lot higher, especially the SOTT and Lovesexy boots...

Very cool thread

feeluupp said:

Did he shorten the heal over time?

Because in the 80's the heel looked a lot higher, especially the SOTT and Lovesexy boots...

The SOTT & Lovesexy shoes weren't made by Cos K - it was just after this period that Cos became his exclusive shoemaker.

But Cos did actually mention that Prince requested alterations to the heel height during the time he was making shoes for him. I think it was to shorten the heel slightly. The lasts themselves were definitely adjusted to make slight alterations according to requests from Prince - by building up layers of leather onto the wooden base / whittling & sculpting.

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