The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

bitefilm Image courtesy of Adelin Gasana I n history, it is recorded that Italian noblewoman Catherine de Medici was the first female to wear high heeled shoes in the 16th century. At the height of 4 foot 11, she wanted to appear taller at her wedding. Before that, women had been wearing platform shoes, or chopines that often made them top- ple over. Since then, we have been wearing high heels for dec- ades, but it was initially considered men’s apparel dating back to Ancient Greece when actors wore platforms during their stage productions. In the 15th century, Persian soldiers wore heels to help secure their feet in stirrups. Persian immigrants brought the shoe trend to Europe, where male aristocrats wore them to appear taller and more formidable. This included King Louis XIV, who gave his name to the actual heel itself. It is said he would parade around with very tight-fitting high heeled shoes, very highly decorated. His heels and soles were made from red Morocco leather, a colour he would not allow anyone else in the French court to wear. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that the stiletto heel was populat- ed by French designers Roger Vivier and André Perugia which quickly spread across Europe and the United States. “I don’t know who invented the high heel,” said Hollywood siren Mar- ilyn Monroe, “but women owe him a lot.” It is no surprise that shoes helped create the modern sex symbol since the actress is reported to have shaved a quarter-inch off one of her stilettos so that she could walk with a wiggle. It is with this subject in mind that two Atlanta-based independ- ent filmmakers, Adelin Gasana at DocuJourney Productions and Lola Kayode at Lola Kay Productions created a 45-minute documentary film called High On Heels . It explores the popular- ity of this international fashion staple that women experience in different ways. From feeling powerful and sexual to being con- fident and beautiful, there are many reasons why women wear heels that Roger Vivier called the ‘needle’. Rwandan-born Adelin Gasana is a documentarian, screenwrit- er, and director who worked in the corporate TV industry and independent film scene for several years. His vast accolade of experience includes TV news, music video shoots, reality TV, digital content creations, promotional videos, infomercial pro- gramming, concert performances, commercial shoots, news- rooms, and arthouse productions. Gasana has an immense love and burning passion for documentary filmmaking. New York native and first-generation Nigerian, Lola Kayode is a content producer with a passion for telling funny stories. She has over ten years’ experience working in network program- ming, television, and film and has written and produced docu- mentaries, music videos, and short films. Two of her short films were screened at the renowned Sundance, and Cannes Film Fes- tival and the 2019 documentary High on Heels was premiered at the Miami Fashion Film Festival in Miami, Florida in January this year. In the documentary, several high profile women in various ca- reers are interviewed about their perspective on the high heel and how it has influenced their lives and other women in gen- eral. Jessica ‘Jessilee’ Washington, a dancer and choreographer who trained in ballet, jazz, and tap since the age of 5, said, “Heels is such a powerful thing. It is more powerful than I think people realise.” At the same time, JoJo St. Claire, a professional tele- vision wardrobe stylist and vlogger described them as “fierce”. Most women would agree with host, reporter, and spokeswom- an Greer Howard that heels are a source of power and emulate confidence, sexiness, and empowerment. With many of these interviewees saying more or less the same things like “confident’ and “makes you sexier” Sasha Rionda, a multilingual anchor, host, and reporter with over 20 years of on-camera television experience, added that heels give you a “better shape, a better body and lifts up your rear a little bit.” It’s interesting to learn that heels can brighten up someone’s day. Jessica ‘Jessilee’ Washington confessed she wears a pair of heels when she’s having a bad day because it’s a way of picking Documentary Spotlight High on Heels With high heels representing many things for women such as beauty, sex- uality, sophistication, and empowerment, Cristina Lloyd explores fashion documentary High On Heels by Adelin Gasana and Lola Kayode.