Abstract: Footwear comprising a foot-fitting portion with a rear portion (1a), a base (2) fitted under the rear portion of the foot-fitting portion, a heel (3) that is releasably fastened to the base (2) by close-fitting assembly means (4, 16, 2a, 3a), and means (5, 7, 17) for automatic locking and manual unlocking of said assembly means, wherein the base (2) is a thin plate of plastics material having at least three tapped metal inserts (nuts) (11, 12) for receiving three fastener screws (14, 15) for fastening the base (2) under the rear portion (1a) of the foot-fitting portion of the footwear.