The heeless pump style were invented by Romeo Griffi in 1958. That same year Griffi filed patents in Italy, England and the U.S. for his cantilevered sole idea. The style was designed to relieve the normal shock to the leg and spine incurred from walking in high heels by shifting the wearer’s weight from the heel to the ball of the foot. The American patent was granted on November 8, 1960.
