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V&A – Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

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Culture

From Cinderella’s glass slipper to David Beckham’s Manchester United football boots, featuring the name of his first son, footwear is the focus of the V&A’s new exhibition, ‘Shoes: Pleasure and Pain’, which features more than 250 pairs of historic and contemporary shoes from around the world.

As well as modern day shoes from the likes of Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and even the infamous cobalt blue Vivienne Westwood platforms that Naomi Campbell took a tumble in the catwalk, the exhibition also includes historical shoes including a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf originating from ancient Egypt and 19th-century Chinese silk shoe that measure just 7.6cm long.

“Shoes are one of the most telling aspects of dress,” said V&A exhibition curator, Helen Persson. “Beautiful, sculptural objects, they are also powerful indicators of gender, status, identity, taste and even sexual preference. Our choice in shoes can help project an image of who we want to be.”

The exhibition is showcased over two floors, examining three themes: transformation, status, and seduction. Transformation looks at the myth and legend aspects of shoes in folklore, opening with different cultural interpretations of the Cinderella story, as well as how this feeds into contemporary marketing from everything from football boots to the sandals that Carrie Bradshaw loses in an episode of Sex and the City.

V&A’s new exhibition examines the pleasure and pain of shoes

Status reveals how impractical shoes have been worn to represent a privileged lifestyle, examining their design, shape and material, with some shoes showcasing how some styles dictate the way in which the wearer moves, how they are seen and even heard. Key pieces including Indian men’s shoes with extremely long toes and noisy slap-sole shoes worn in Europe during the 17th century.

The seduction theme is probably the most striking, representing the concept of footwear as a representation of sexual empowerment and pleasure, featuring Christian Louboutin fetish shoes, which features high heels bent to be almost parallel with the sole of the foot.

There are number of shoes featured that have been worn by high profile figures including a pair of courts owned by Marilyn Monroe, as well as Queen Victoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga, and Kylie Minogue. As well as pieces by designers including Alexander McQueen, Sophia Webster, Roger Vivier for Christian Dior, and Prada.

Finishing off the exhibition is a look at shoes as commodities and collectibles, with six different collection presented, from historic pieces to a high-end collector, a ‘sneaker head’, as well as a lover of high street shoes.

Accompanying the exhibition will be series of events including ‘in conversation’ talks with Sandra Choi, Jimmy Choo’s creative director, Charlotte Olympia, Manolo Blahnik, and Bruno Frisoni, creative director for Roger Vivier.

Shoes: Pleasure & Pain at the V&A runs from June 13 to January 31, 2016.

Images: V&A

V&A