Marche et Demarche: A History of Shoes

When I heard there was a new exhibition of shoes at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs , I quickly dashed there as soon as I could. 

The exhibit encompasses the evolution of the shoe and its cultural significance starting from the middle-ages to the present day in western and non-western civilizations. The ambitious display features over 500 pairs of shoes plus posters, artifacts, ads, photographs and films. 

A significant point of departure for the show is a black shoe owned by Marie Antoinette, which measures 8” long by 2 “wide. The answer to the question “How could a 37-year-old woman wear such a tiny size? lies in the fact that women of aristocracy and royalty of that time walked very little and therefore their shoes were not made to walk in (Fast forward to the present time with 6 inch high Louboutin shoes and it’s almost the same case). The phenomena of the small foot continues with the bounded feet in China. 

 

Although I enjoyed seeing the footwear from various periods in time, I was most interested the 20^th century models, as I could relate them on a particular level, since I worked in the ladies’ retail shoe business for fifteen years. Salvatore Ferragamo designed the most modern and advanced style shoes in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the influence of his creations are still reflected in the shoe culture today. He also brought the platform shoe and wedge into vogue in the 1940s and they were reinvented again in the 1970s. Other shoe innovators and style makers of the late 20^th century include designers Charles Jourdan, Maud Frizon, Pierre Hardy, and Roger Vivier. 

A fun interactional part of the show is a designated “fitting room” where visitors can walk in eight different types of historic and modern shoes recreated by shoe designer Fred Rolland. 

One room has a clever display of vitrines with black curtains over them in which the viewer can choose to part them or not. Behind the curtains are a selection of extreme styles which capture the fetishist side of shoes brought forth in the 20^th century. 

The end part of the show is where modern designers including Benoît Méléard, Noritaka Tatehana, Masaya Kushino, Alexander McQueen and Iris van Herpen use their imagination to push the boundaries of footwear, making them into art pieces rather than wearable shoes. 

Until February 23, 2020 

Musee des Arts Decoratifs 

107 rue de Rivoli, 75001 

https://madparis.fr/en/museums/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/

In my latest  A Bite of Paris video, I've taken a break from food tasting to visit my friend Jessica at La Vaissellerie, my favorite tabletop, dish ware, and kitchen shop, located in the Marais. 

Click here to watch or link below 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfIOVl7188&feature=youtu.be 

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Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

 

Comments

[Linda]

Richard, this is a fabulous post! WIsh I had known of this with our company as Bernie’s cousin Laurie wears nothing but Ferragamo shoes! Beautiful photos.