As I sit nursing my aching feet, which are apparently paying me back now for overdoing the cute shoes in my 20s, and having just bought the ugliest pair of shoes I could possibly imagine to help nurse them back to health, the irony of the title of the Brooklyn Museum‘s upcoming show does not pass me by. “Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe” opens September 10, 2014 and runs through February 15, 2015.
Despite my current foot woes, or perhaps because of them, I remain a shoe fanatic. Collecting photos of interesting shoe fashions is an obsession when I travel.
“Beyond Wilderness” by Iris van Herpen
When we rolled into the town of Hoi An, Vietnam not too long ago, I knew the place was known for its custom tailors. But I had no idea that there were custom shoemakers, too. There were entire blocks of the tourist town dedicated to sneakers in every color and pattern available, dress shoes with wings, heels with patchwork leather, sandals on platforms…. I was in heaven.
Shops upon shops full of custom-made shoes in Hoi An, Vietnam
So of course when I heard about the upcoming “Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe” at the Brooklyn Museum, I put it right into my calendar (along with a shoe-shopping trip to Manhattan). The show looks at the high-heeled shoe’s rich and varied history as fashion statement, fetish object, and outlet of artistic expression. With Killer Heels, the Brooklyn Museum will host fashionistas and shoe fetishists of all ages and types to view more than 160 historical and contemporary pairs of high heeled art and craft.
Italian chopine
The exhibition features pieces from both high-profile and emerging designers and fashion houses, including Christian Louboutin, Rodarte, Zaha Hadid, Iris van Herpen, Nicholas Kirkwood, and Giuseppe Zanotti, as well as from the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned costume collection. Killer Heels also features six specially commissioned short films, inspired by high heels, by Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh, Zach Gold, Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Marilyn Minter, and Rashaad Newsome.
“Atom” by Noritaka Tatehana
Details: “Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe” opens September 10, 2014 and runs through February 15, 2015 at the Brooklyn Museum.
I enjoyed that thanks. I bought 2 pairs of shoes in Hoi An, they didn’t last long but I loved them.
I had the same experience in Hoi An – had 3 pairs of shoes made, cute as could be, but they didn’t last long. Oh well. They were fun while they lasted!