Shoes, no matter how beautifully designed, tend to be pretty conservative--a shoe, after all, is a shoe. But that hasn't stopped several designers from creating high-concept items that incorporate cutting edge materials and techniques--and some that question the idea of the shoe itself. Here's 13 we've spotted recently.

Andreia Chaves creates high-concept foot couture, such as this "Invisible Shoe," which reflects its surroundings.

[Via Yatzer]

The Form and Texture shoe, made of wooden cubes and leather.

[Via Yatzer]

Porsche Design just unveiled its Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Dedicated to water and snow, the shoes were created with Jochen Schümann, a legendary sailor. The uppers are made of quick-drying mesh, while the soles are made of sticky rubber, for gripping the slippery decks of your yacht after you've emptied another bottle of Cristal.

[More at FlyLyf]

Golfing cleats.

[Via FlyLyf]

A bouncy running shoe.

[Via FlyLyf]

Marloes ten Bhömer specializes in creating shoes using the highest-tech materials and techniques. These boots are made of foam that was molded around a conventional stiletto sole--thus creating an echo of a familiar shape.

This one, made of leather and carbon fiber, is a deconstructed goof on the process of shoe-making itself. The individual pieces were formed onto a variety of different shoe lasts, then assembled to create a fractured collage.

A shoe made of high-grade rubber, via rotational molding.

United Nude, under the creative direction of famed architect Rem Koolhaas, continues to produce some remarkable footwear experiments, such as 2009's "Lo-Res" shoe. A typical Mary Jane pump was first scanned in 3-D, and then the resolution of the scan was lowered enough to produce the faceted shape here. Finally, it was molded in flexible but durable plastic.

Hand-molded carbon fiber allows the Cosmo shoe too take on a form that only looks impossibly fragile.

The Fold shoe is made of out of a single strip of elasticized fiber, which is folded over itself like a scarf.

Last but not least, you can't talk about crazy shoes in the year 2010 without mentioning Alexander McQueen's stunning Spring 2010 collection, which was reportedly inspired by a vision of post-apocalyptic, hybrid humans who've returned to the seas. The talk--and scandal--of the collection were the enormous, alien-like boots. The first customer? Lady GaGa. She debuted a new song at the runway show, and wore some of the designs in the amazing new video for Bad Romance.

[Pic via Style.com]