1972 - 1974 | NEW SHOES FOR H.M. | THE ART OF DON EDDY | THE COMPLETE SHOE SERIES

1972 | Don Eddy
Summer Shoes

1973 | Don Eddy
New Shoes For H.M.

1973 | Don Eddy
New Shoes for H

The Cleveland Museum Of Art

1973 | Don Eddy

New Shoes

1974 | Don Eddy
Silver Shoes

ALL THE PAINTINGS FROM:
DON EDDY official web site.

SHOES & ART
1832 - 2009

FOOTNOTE
H.M. is Henri Matisse

Ca. 1970 | Simco shoe store window display

Photograph by Don Eddy

Source: Smithsonian Institution

FIORUCCI | MILAN |

FIORUCCI |
Merry Christmas | Late '70s

2006 | MANOLO BLAHNIK FOR SOFIA COPPOLA'S MARIE ANTOINETTE | THE CANDY SHOES | STARRING MILENA CANONERO | PART TWO

MANOLO BLAHNIK PER MARIE ANTONIETTE, SCRITTO E DIRETTO DA SOFIA COPPOLA | 2006 | COSTUMI DI MILENA CANONERO

SECONDA PARTE

Pensavo che sotto quei vestiti si sarebbero viste appena, invece la cinepresa indugia per un momento sulle scarpe; le cortigiane le guardano ed è bellissimo come é stato colto l'attimo. Sono molto, molto soddisfatto: per me é stata una sfida, ma sono piacevolmente sorpreso. 

I thought, under those big dresses you would see a glimpse, but the camera lingers for a moment on the shoes, and the ladies of the court are looking at the shoes, and it's quite extraordinary how they captured it. I'm very, very pleased actually; it was a challenge for me, but I was very surprised. 

Manolo Blahnik | NY Daily News October 2006

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 02/1

2006 | MET Museum | Gift of Manolo Blahnik

Source: MET, NY

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 02/2

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 02/3

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 02/4

2006 | Sofia's touch
Converse Chuck Taylors take center stage

Sofia Coppola and ...

... Milena Canonero ...

... hard at

MANOLO BLAHNIK FOR SOFIA COPPOLA'S MARIE ANTOINETTE

PART ONE

A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT

MANOLO BLAHNIK

... work.

1957 | ANDY WARHOL | THE GOLDEN SLIPPERS | WARHOL'S FIRST TIME ON LIFE MAGAZINE

All through the fifties, he tried to have his commercial work taken seriously by showing it in galleries: The Capote show at the Hugo Gallery was followed by a group show at the Loft Gallery in 1954, and two shows at the Bodley Gallery in 1956.

All, including the last—“The Golden Slipper Show or Shoes Show in America” - were ignored by the established art world, dominated by macho Abstract Expressionists like de Kooning and Pollock, and by square intellectual critics like Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg. But these elaborate gold-leaf fantasies revealed much about Andy’s ambitions and desires.

Bob Colacello
From: Holy Terror. Andy Warhol Close Up (Harper Collins Publishers, 1990)

1957 | Andy Warhol | CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

From LIFE magazine |

January 21, 1957

Andy had a real breakthrough with his Crazy Golden Slippers show at the Bodley Gallery in December 1956. These were large blotted-line drawings of shoes painted gold, or decorated with gold metal and foil, like the lacquer furniture he had seen in Bangkok. The distanced, iconographic golden slippers were a distinct contrast to the personal, voyeuristic male portraits he had shown at the beginning of the year and – perhaps consequently – more successful.

He gave each shoe a name: Elvis Presley, James Dean, Mae West, Truman Capote and Julie Andrews, among others, were given shoes that mirrored their characters. Julie Andrews and her husband Tony Walton came to the opening and so did the actress Tammy Grimes. There was less of the gay element.

Victor Bockris
Warhol. The Biography (Da Capo Press, 1989)

1957 | Andy Warhol | Elvis Presley

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Source: LIFE magazine

The show was followed by a two-page colour spread of the Crazy Golden Slippers in Life magazine. Andy had been so worried his work was going to be rejected that he had taken David Mann to Life’s offices with him. ‘Andy kept saying, “Oh God! They’re not going to like these, this is going to be absolutely terrible, they’re going to tear me down,” ’ Mann recalled. ‘He was really sweating it out.’

Victor Bockris
Warhol. The Biography (Da Capo Press, 1989)

1957 | Andy Warhol | James Dean

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Source: LIFE magazine

1957 | Andy Warhol | Kate Smith

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Source: LIFE magazine

1957 | Andy Warhol | Julie Andrews

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Source: LIFE magazine

The socialite D. D. Ryan bought the gold shoe he had dedicated to Truman Capote, and sent it to Truman as a Christmas present with an accompanying note describing Warhol. ‘He’s becoming very well known. Very on-coming,’ she wrote.

‘Even then I never had the idea he wanted to be a painter or an artist,’ Capote recalled. ‘I thought he was one of those people who are “interested in the arts”. As far as I knew he was a window decorator . . . Let’s say a window-decorator type.'

Victor Bockris
Warhol. The Biography (Da Capo Press, 1989)

1957 | Andy Warhol | Truman Capote

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Source: LIFE magazine

1957 | Andy Warhol | Zsa Zsa Gabor

CRAZY GOLDEN SLIPPERS [An actual I.Miller shoe]

Source: LIFE magazine

LIFE magazine got ahold of Warhol's work at an early stage. In 1957 Warhol was working for I. Miller, got some drawings published by Glamour magazine, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times and already had a few shows under his belt. In spite of this, his second LIFE appearance came only in September 1963.

ANDY WARHOL
POP ARTisan | IT'S ALL ABOUT SHOES

SHOES & ART
1932 - 2011

1970 | THE FUTURE THAT NEVER WAS | THE RUDI GERNREICH'S VISION

1970 | IL FUTURO CHE NON É STATO | LA VISIONE DI RUDI GERNREICH

Tom Boome and Renée Holt

Picture by Patricia Faure

Rudi Gernreich, visionario fashion designer di origine austriaca, tra le altre cose, inventore del topless, grande sostenitore della moda unisex e disegnatore dei costumi della serie Spazio 1999, nel gennaio 1970 presentò a Los Angeles una sfilata ed una collezione per anticipare la moda del nuovo decennio destinata a fare notizia a livello planetario. [1]

Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born visionary fashion designer, who among other things, invented the topless, was a big supporter of unisex fashion and designed the costumes for S/F TV show Space 1999. Based In Los Angeles (January 1970) he showcased a collection to kickstart the new decade in fashion. A success that hit the headlines worldwide. [1]

Space 1999 | The cast

Costumes by Rudi Gernreich

Tom Boome and Renée Holt

Picture by Patricia Faure

Sul palco comparvero due modelli, Tom Boome e Renée Holt, rasati a pelle (sopracciglia incluse), semisvestiti in modo identico. Volutamente sembravano gemelli.  L’idea di fondo era che la nuova moda del futuro, di cui Gernreich si faceva profeta, stemperando gli attributi sessuali, avrebbe spostato l’attenzione dalla forma e dall’aspetto di una persona verso altre più profonde osservazioni.

“penso che questo semplificherà molto le cose. Servirà a non farci più pensare all’aspetto che abbiamo e ci spingerà a rivolgere tutta la nostra attenzione alle questioni veramente importanti”. 

[Rudi Gernreich]

Per le persone anziane, per le quali l’esibizione della nudità poteva essere un problema, Gernreich proponeva un’identica rasatura, abbinata però all’utilizzo di coloratissime cappe lunghe fino ai piedi, sempre per distogliere l’attenzione dal corpo e non far più pensare alle mutazioni fisiche.

The two models, Tom Boom and Renee Holt, appeared on stage completely shaved (eyebrows included), identically semidressed. They appeared as twins intentionally. Gernreich clearly stated his view in this way:

“Fashion will go out of fashion. The 'utility principle' will allow us to take our minds off how we look and concentrate on really important matters.“ 

[Rudi Gernreich]

For the elderly, while the exhibition of nudity could be a problem, Gernreich  proposed the same shaved hair combined with the use of colorful and feet-long mantles, to distract attention from the body and the physical changes.

1970 | Rudi Gernreich illustration for LIFE
Source: LIFE magazine

Queste teorie nascevano in California, ma per trasferirle su scala globale, bisognava trovare una soluzione per fronteggiare i rigori invernali, almeno per i più giovani. Per il corpo la scelta andò verso tute sintetiche aderenti, a coste pesanti, abbinate a stivaloni impermeabili a tutta gamba. Gernreich aveva pensato ad una soluzione anche per la testa senza capelli, che poteva prender freddo (o scottarsi col sole).

These “prophecies” were born in California, but in order to apply them to a global level, Gernreich had to foreseen a solution for different and harsher climates. He opted for heavily  ribbed leotards in synthetic fabric, worn with waterproof thigh high boots. Also Gernreich had to found out a solution for the shaved head because of the cold and/or sunburns.

1970 | Rudi Gernreich illustration for LIFE

Source: LIFE magazine

Considerazioni e spunti che generarono la sfilata del gennaio 1970 erano nati poco prima, a seguito di un invito fatto a Gernreich, da parte della rivista americana LIFE, ad ipotizzare una visione del futuro della moda per il numero doppio che inaugurava il decennio. Il servizio si apriva proprio sull’idea delle teste rasate e relativa soluzione: 

“Entrambi i sessi indosseranno una parrucca in Dynel a forma di elmetto, bianca per l’estate e nera per l’inverno”.

Thoughts and ideas for the January 1970 show were previewed when THE American magazine LIFE invited Gernreich to outline the future of fashion for the double issue that started the new decade. Gernreich opened the report exactly with the idea of shaven heads and the possible solutions: 

“both sexes will wear helmet-shaped Dynel wigs – white for summer, black for winter”.

Peggy Moffit

Picture by William Claxton

L’idea della forma a elmetto (il celeberrimo “taglio a scodella”), gliel’aveva senz’altro fornita la sua musa, la modella Peggy Moffit, che aveva reso celebre il “five point cut” inventato dallo stylist Vidal Sassoon.

The idea of helmet-shape certainly came from his muse, the model Peggy Moffitt, who got famous because the "five point cut" invented by stylist Vidal Sassoon.

Peggy Moffit
Picture by William Claxton

Il concetto di Gernreich era illustrato su LIFE con questa immagine:

Gernreich concept was illustrated with the below picture

1970 | Rudi Gernreich illustration for LIFE

Nel frattempo, nel distretto calzaturiero parabiaghese, qualcuno che aveva come slogan “la calzatura maledettamente giovane”, vide quei disegni, identificò il concetto con l’idea di modernità e la volle fare propria. Nacque così la campagna stampa del calzaturificio Rancir, del designer Giorgio Rancilio, creata sul finire del 1970 e replicata l'anno successivo.

Meanwhile, in the Parabiago footwear district, someone who described his own production as "bloody young" saw Gernreich's drawings, and fully embraced the idea behind it. Thus, the 1970/1971 Giorgio Rancilio's Rancir press campaign was born.

1971 | Rancir by Giorgio Rancilio

Parabiago, Milan

1971 | Rancir by Giorgio Rancilio

Parabiago, Milan

1972 | Rancir

Parabiago, Milan

[1] L’eco arrivò subito anche in Italia: ecco l'articolo da “La Stampa” del 22 gennaio 1970:

[1] And Italy as well: here's the article from the daily newspaper La Stampa (Turin), January 22, 1970

Maggiori dettagli sulla sfilata (e bellissime foto) in “The Rudi Gernreich Book, di Peggy Moffit.

More details and great pictures about Gernreich’s show in “The Rudi Gernreich Book", di Peggy Moffit.

1958 | UMBERTO COLOMBO | PARABIAGO |

1958 | Umberto Colombo | Parabiago, Milan

Royal shoes that give distinction and elegance

STYLE INTO REBELLION | IGOR STRAVINSKY

“Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end.”

IGOR STRAVINSKY

2006 | MANOLO BLAHNIK FOR SOFIA COPPOLA'S MARIE ANTOINETTE | THE CANDY SHOES | STARRING MILENA CANONERO | PART ONE

MANOLO BLAHNIK PER MARIE ANTONIETTE, SCRITTO E DIRETTO DA SOFIA COPPOLA | 2006 | COSTUMI DI MILENA CANONERO | PRIMA PARTE

"If Marie Antoinette called me to go to Paris to make shoes for only her, I would go in a second."

MANOLO BLAHNIK | TIME Magazine | March 2003 

THREE YEARS LATER ...

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette | 2006

Con "Marie Antoniette" MILENA CANONERO ha vinto il suo terzo Oscar per i costumi. Gli altri due sono stati "Barry Lyndon" di Stanley Kubrik (1975) e "Momenti Di Gloria" di Hugh Hudson (1981). É sua l'idea di chiamare Manolo Blahnik per disegnare scarpe adeguate ai sontuosi costumi.

Italian costume designer MILENA CANONERO won her third Oscar with "Marie Antoinette"; the other two were Kubrik's "Barry Lyndon" (1975) and Hudson's "Chariots Of Fire" (1981). It was her idea to ask Manolo Blahnik to design the shoes.

Surprise surprise

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 01

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 02

2006 | MET Museum | Gift Of Manolo Blahnik

Source: MET NY

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 03

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 04

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 05

2006 | Blahnik for Marie Antoinette | 06

C'é tanta Italia in Maria Antoniette, tra gli altri troviamo anche POMPEI e PIERONI di cui abbiamo riferito QUI.

Made in Italy galore in "Marie Antoinette": among others POMPEI and PIERONI both featured HERE. 

2006 | Marie Antoinette |
Movie credits

PART TWO

WITH A SPECIAL CAMEO APPEARANCE

A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT

MANOLO BLAHNIK

Ovviamente non é la prima volta che queste scarpe appaiono in rete, ma tra prima e seconda parte avrete (quasi) l'intera serie. A proposito: belle foto e un disegno di Blahnik (da Harper's Bazaar UK) li trovate qui.

Of course you've seen these shoes before on the net, then again, together with the second part, you'll get the (almost) complete series. By the way: nice pictures and a Blahnik's sketch from Harper's Bazaar UK can be found HERE.