Alyssa Cartaut

Alyssa Cartaut
France
“The Cushion Issue”
Shoes
Born in 2001
Graduate of Duperré, Paris and La Cambre, Brussels
Lives and works in Paris, France
alyssacartaut@gmail.com
IG @alyssacartaut

The Cushion Issue
The bedroom is a paradoxical space, both a refuge and a boundary. Its walls protect and isolate, its warmth contrasting with the coldness of the outside world. It invites us to explore our personal, intimate space, which can be a refuge. Intimacy is neither a luxury nor a weakness; it is the hidden place where we confront ourselves and express our full complexity.
My shoe collection translates this duality between public and private into a new form of protection inspired by cushions, whose structure and comfort are reflected in each model. The shoes inflate and deflate through a unique breathing mechanism, representing the evolution of the individual’s relationship with their personal space. Between protection and exposure, the shoes are an extension of intimacy in everyday gestures, embodying the ambivalence between the desire to hide and the desire to be discovered.
At the heart of the collection, the mule embodies this subtle tension. Unlike a closed shoe, it reveals and conceals. Slipping on a slipper is a comforting gesture that provides immediate relief. Each mule goes beyond the simple function of footwear: it becomes an extension of personal space where one can assert oneself without revealing everything, like a room on a foot scale.