Shoes: Pleasure and Pain exhibition begins at V&A
The transformative power of extreme footwear is explored in the V&A’s summer 2015 fashion exhibition, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain. More than 250 pairs of historic and contemporary shoes from around the world are on display, many for the first time. The exhibition explores the agonising aspect of wearing shoes as well as the euphoria and obsession they can inspire.
The V&A’s shoe collection is unrivalled, spanning the globe and over 2000 years. For Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, curator Helen Persson has delved into this, other international collections and the wardrobes of private individuals to select an exceptional range of shoes, from a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf originating from ancient Egypt to futuristic looking shoes created using 3D printing.
Shoes worn by or associated with high profile figures including Marilyn Monroe, Queen Victoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue and the Hon Daphne Guinness are on show as well as famous shoes, such as the ballet slippers designed for Moira Shearer in the 1948 film The Red Shoes. Footwear for men and women by 70 named designers including Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Prada are on display. Historic lotus shoes made for bound feet, 16th-century chopines and silk mules with vertiginous platforms designed to lift skirts above the muddy streets also feature.
Exhibition curator, Helen Persson, says: “Shoes are one of the most telling aspects of dress. 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.”
Close Chopines, photographed in the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the V&A, London, 2014, Punched kid leather over carved pine, Venice, Italy, c.1600