What if Disney characters strutted around in designer footwear? Two feature animation artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios have done all of the meticulously drawn hard work for us, visualizing the princess' (totally imaginary) high-end shoe predilections.
By day, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay and Normand Lemay work at Disney; by night, they whip up illustrations on their own time under the moniker Griz and Norm. The real-life couple shares their colorful, playful illustrations on Instagram, and many sketches are inspired by classic films and characters with a twist — say, Star Wars, starring cats.
The series was inspired by Sastrawinata-Lemay's own daydreaming about the intersection of Disney princesses and designer footwear. "I’m a shoe collector and I’ve always loved great shoe design," Sastrawinata-Lemay (a.k.a. Griz) told Refinery29. She's familiarized herself with the signatures of her favorite footwear brands, and, “based on the princess’ personality, I imagined what shoe designer they would shop at the most,” Sastrawinata-Lemay explains. She kicked off the project with Elsa from Frozen.
A few months ago, Griz and Norm posted an illustration on Instagram of a dreamy, bedazzled shoe fit for a queen — for Queen Elsa, that is — inspired by Christian Louboutin's designs.
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"Elsa is a confident woman and very luxurious," Sastrawinata-Lemay says. "Christian Louboutin is the ultimate luxurious shoe designer and also my favorite! So I imagine Elsa would probably have a great amount of Louboutin in her closet."
Two similar illustrations followed: a Jimmy Choo Lilyth Sandal for Beauty and the Beast's Belle...
...and a Stuart Weitzman-inspired d'Orsay heel (fashioned out of glass, of course) for Cinderella:
Then, Griz and Norm announced (with a color-changing Manolo Blahnik Hangisi Crystal-Buckle Pump for Aurora from Sleeping Beauty) that they would pursue the fantastical endeavor for an entire month. Every day in October, the account posted a new shoe fashioned for a character from the Disney universe: princesses, villains, and many other beloved characters would get the fairy-tale-footwear treatment.
From new favorites, like Merida from Brave, to OG Disney characters, like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan, all sorts of members of the larger Disney universe from were paired with iconic designs. The footwear pool wasn't limited to textbook classics, like Louboutins and Choos, either: Lemay showed off her knowledge by fashioning illustrations of industry-favorite brands like Sophia Webster (for Megara from Hercules) and Casadei (for Anna from Frozen), and referencing styles from season's past, like Balenciaga's thorn sandals (for Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty).
While the duo collaborates frequently, Sastrawinata-Lemay spearheaded this particular series. "We usually take turns posting on our Instagram," she explains. "When we collaborate, we usually start with a casual conversation about what would be fun. We only do things we love, so everything feels like play; it feels casual." Lamey tells us that Disney fans and shoe lovers alike have reached out to them about the illustrations.
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Luckily, these iconic Disney characters don't have to foot the bill for such top-notch kicks. You can check out the entire series on Griz and Norm's Instagram.