Heel-less high heels hit the U.S.

British designer Antonio Beradi has released a pricey, 5 1/2-inch, heel-less high-heel shoe in the United States, England and elsewhere.

The shoe, which places all of the weight onto a thick toe wedge and eliminates the need for a heel, sells for $3,600 a pair.

Celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Victoria Beckham have already put in orders for the shoe, which were revealed in Berardi's spring collection, the New York Post reported.

There is also already a five-week back order on them in England.

Berardi, 39, said the design is inspired by Latin American music and 1980s post-modernism.

When you walk, it is almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty, he told the Daily Mail.

Foot doctors have knocked the shoe's design.

When you elevate the rear of the foot it makes you lean forward, which is bad for both the back and the foot, said Michael Paynton of the British Podiatry Association.

A spokesman for Berardi even admitted, You cannot wear them for very long.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International