A Beyoncé fan account on Twitter posted a photograph on July 27, 2023, reportedly showing the singer wearing golden high heels with a corporeal form — one that some fans speculated was modeled after her figure from behind. The tweet was viewed almost 1 million times, amassing tens of thousands of retweets and likes.
However, Snopes found that while the image did authentically show Beyoncé in the shoes, the original caption was incorrect. The shoes were not designed to look like her lower body.
Hours after tweeting the photograph, the fan account posted a follow-up tweet to correctly attribute the shoes as a standard pair from ALAÏA, the eponymic brand by Azzedine Alaïa, the late Tunisian couturier and shoe designer. "They look more like horse legs than human legs?" that tweet stated, contradicting the original assertion that they were modeled after Beyonce's body.
The designer's website described the shoes not as a customized creation in the image of Beyoncé, but as "sculptural ankle strap heel sandals" with a shape "inspired by the parisian cabaret dancers." In the tweeted photograph, the ALAÏA logo can be seen on the sole of the shoe.
Beyoncé was reportedly photographed in what looks like the same shoes and dress at her Renaissance tour performance in Detroit, Michigan, on July 26, 2023. Fashion blog Highsnobiety wrote about Beyoncé wearing the shoes, including the aforementioned tweet and noting, "Beyoncé's titillating choice in shoes is just one example of the many sartorial statements she's made on tour."
ALAÏA's website was selling versions of the shoes, as of this writing. Interested parties could purchase their own pair for $1,790. They also came in solid black.