This bejeweled gold velvet mule with extended tongue/shin ornament was designed by Roger Vivier in 1964. It was purchased at auction by the Roger Vivier Archives in Paris, France and generously loaned for the entire run of the Bata Shoe Museum’s retrospective of the designer’s career Roger Vivier: From Process to Perfection in 2012. Side […]
Step into the Footwear of Royalty
By Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack Associations between footwear and royalty are long standing. One of the most famous ancient Egyptian artifacts, The Narmer Palette from around 3100 B.C.E, depicts a barefoot pharaoh slaying an enemy of Egypt while his sandal bearer waits in the background holding his royal footwear. Sandal bearers in […]
The Height of Fashion: Conservation of a Pair of 17th Century Slap Sole Shoes
Slap sole shoes were developed in the early 1600’s as a means to protect the shoe from sinking into the ground. It featured a 2-part system where a shoe was slipped inside a flat sole mule (backless shoe). By the mid-17th century these two components had become integral and primarily a dress staple for the […]