It’s big, black and slightly barmy.
But the latest footware fashion to emerge from colleges is nothing if not eye-catching.
Traditional textiles might not be so easy to come by around West Yorkshire these days but this has proved no hindrance to the talents of students from New College, Pontefract, who have come up with a footware range made out of liquorice.
Their work takes pride of place at the three-day Pontefract Liquorice Festival, starting today.
In previous years, the students have contributed to the festival with hats and catwalk fashions made out of liquorice.
The most famous delicacy associated with the town’s long history of liquorice-making is the Pontefract cake.
Confectionery makers Bassett, Rowntree, and Cadbury can all trace their roots to firms which started business in Pontefract, and the annual festival has been run since 1994.
The shoes will be on display at the town museum during the festival.
Among other things, liquorice, its name derived from the ancient Greek word for “sweet root”, is reputed to lower testosterone, cure constipation and act as a treatment for mouth ulcers.
