Céline Dion’s Flaming Shoes are Truly Something Else

Céline Dion has a really fabulous new pair of shoes, and they look like flaming chickens.

Dion took to Instagram to show off her special new style: heels that seem to be wrapped in strips of red, orange, and yellow crepe paper. A phoenix is proudly aflame on the heel of the right shoe, wings aloft. She posed in a red sequined dress with her knees elegantly bent before her Christmas tree, back twisted in a way that would do America’s Next Top Model judges proud. “Is your Christmas tree decorated yet?” she captioned the photo. “Team Celine.”

As the New York Post reports, the shoes were made by Toronto set design Caitlin Doherty on a commission from Scotiabank Arena. They’re titled “Courage,” after Dion’s latest studio album. According to a placard accompanying the “wearable art” piece, the shoes are designed to serve as a “tribute to Céline Dion and an artistic expression of her passion for fashion and a metaphor that represents her journey. The symbolism… resembles themes both Céline Dion and a Phoenix have in common, transformation and rebirth.”

Rebirth does make sense–over the past couple of years, the Dionaissance has been such a pleasant addition to the pop culture landscape. The singer, once known as a buttoned-up crooner, has become a Vetements-wearing, drag queen-loving, beloved eccentric. Courage is a best-seller, and she’ll be on tour through late 2020.

The public has responded to the phoenix shoes with both confusion and enthusiasm. “You’ve got a f-cking chicken on your foot Céline! And I love it,” a fan tweeted. Another commented on Dion’s post, telling the singer to “work those chicken fire boots.” Someone else mistook the phoenix for “a turkey escaping the fire (oven).”

Dion loves a fashion risk. As she told Gulf News last week, “I’m in show business. You show your butt or your back or your shoulder and you go, ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi.’”

“Life is short,” she said. “Can’t we just have a good time?”