Prince wasn’t a tall man but he was always big in stature — especially on stage.His signature high-heels helped — literally.Randy Paige reports that Prince was much more than a music icon. Prince also set fashion trends as the prince of style.The jackets, pants, the ensembles. And the shoes.Since the beginning of the 80s, the shoes were designed and made on Sunset Boulevard — at Andre No. 1.The owner told Paige that nearly all of Prince’s 3,000 pairs of shoes are identical — with the exception of color.Each pair had to match the fabric and color of the clothes he was wearing.“The only thing he would change about his shoes were either it would be a wood heel or the same material would cover the heel or he would have a Lucite heel that flashes lights,” said Gary Kazanchyan.“He wanted the shoes to be as light as possible and also as durable as possible because you never know when hes going to start doing splits,” said Kazanchyan.That’s why the brace was made of stainless steel — it’s light and strong.When Kazanchyan went to see Prince perform, and to see his handcrafted shoes in action — one thought wouldn’t leave his mind.“Every time he was jumping up to do the splits I was holding my breath — I was hoping the heel didn’t break off,” he said.Andre #1 is the shoemaker to the stars. Inside the shoe boxes, 3D scans of each celebrity client’s feet.A single pair costs $2,400.Kazanchyan says Prince was one of his most treasured clients and he was honored that he loved his shoes so much. He literally wore them morning, noon and night — on stage and off.Another challenge — each pair could not be made of any animal products. Prince was a vegan.
