WTF: Did the world REALLY need GPS shoes? UM NO

There are all kinds of things we need in the world, like a way to transport us to work instead of getting the tube, a cure to all of those diseases and a way of shutting up TOWIE stars, but instead today we’ve been given GPS shoes.

Designed by Dominic Wilcox (who calls his Wizard of Oz-inspired shoes No Place Like Home), and commissioned by Global Footprint, the left shoe in the pair has a GPS sensor placed in the heel, which is activated by clicking the two heels together.

After uploading a destination to the shoes through a USB connection from a laptop, a circle of brogue perforations reveal LEDs that light up to indicate which direction the wearer should take. The right shoe indicates distance travelled, with a progress bar of red LED lights that illuminate as the wearer gets closer to their target.

It’s cutting edge and brings together the quirky design world with tech and fashion, but should you rely on your shoes for directions when you have other clever things like brains and phones for directions? Well probably not. Oh and don’t even get us started on the health and safety implications of you wandering around looking down all the time. We can imagine the Daily Mail headlines now “MAN DIES FROM PRETENTIOUS SHOE TRAGEDY.”

The idea behind No Place Like Home is cute, pretentious, fun and obviously completely unnecessary and a bit stupid, which is why we’ll probably end up wanting a pair ourselves.

If you’re interested in checking out the shoes, No Place Like Home is currently being exhibited as part of Dominic’s Variations on Normal exhibition at KK Outlet, Hoxton, prior to its installation in the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery as part of Global Footprint. The exhibit will then go on show at the DESIGN TIDE event in Tokyo later in the year.