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When Tom Cruise and Michael B. Jordan stepped out collectively for the “Mission: Not possible – The Closing Reckoning” premiere at Cannes earlier this week, eager‑eyed netizens seen one thing curious: each stars regarded just a little taller than ordinary. Cruise, who’s formally listed at 5-foot-7, appeared nearly on par with Jordan’s 6-foot body, subtly reigniting fascination with top‑boosting — particularly males’s, and the quiet evolution it’s undergone in recent times.
On Thursday on the London premiere, Jordan posed on the purple carpet in a Louis Vuitton go well with with footwear that featured a contemporary chunky design, with a textured black leather-based higher and thick lug soles. Cruise wore a black go well with with lace-up footwear.

Michael B. Jordan and Tom Cruise attend the International Premiere Purple Carpet in assist of “Mission: Not possible – The Closing Reckoning” at Leicester Sq. on Could 15, 2025, in London.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Pictures for Par
On Wednesday on the Cannes Movie Pageant premiere, Cruise wore a standard tuxedo with patent leather-based footwear that had a barely larger heel and arch in comparison with commonplace males’s costume footwear.
Hight-boosting footwear has an extended historical past. In sixteenth‑century Venice, Italy, aristocratic ladies wore chopines — platform mules that typically soared greater than 20 inches excessive — to indicate off wealthy materials and sign social rank. By the seventeenth century, European the Aristocracy embraced heeled boots, equal elements vogue assertion and horseback utility. The trendy elevator shoe took off in 1972, when Italian artisan Mario Bertulli launched a discreet, hidden-sole design that added almost 4 inches in top. It caught on with disco‑period dancers and performers on the lookout for elevate with out flash.

Tom Cruise on the “Mission: Not possible – The Closing Reckoning” Premiere on the 78th Cannes Movie Pageant held at Palais des Festivals on Could 14, 2025 in Cannes, France.
Earl Gibson III/Deadline
As we speak’s elevator footwear are extra refined than their ‘70s predecessors. GuidoMaggi, identified for hand‑stitched Italian leathers and customized matches, markets its line as each elegant and purposeful.
Masaltos, one other mainstay within the area, backs its footwear with lifetime ensures and produces every thing from formal costume footwear to minimalist sneakers. These manufacturers have seen rising curiosity from males who desire a refined increase.
Nonetheless, podiatrists advise moderation. Inside lifts can assist with posture and take stress off the Achilles tendon, however an excessive amount of top — or a poor match — can throw off stability and put pressure on the forefoot.
Cruise’s footwear has gone viral earlier than. On the 2022 “High Gun: Maverick” U.Ok. premiere, he stood almost eye-to-eye with 5-foot-9 Kate Middleton, then Duchess of Cambridge, who was in heels.

