Thursday, December 31, 2015

ANDRE PERUGIA UPDATES

1924 | PERUGIA Bottier
PERUGIA doesn't copy, he creates.
Source: Jazz magazine


1925 | ANDRE PERUGIA EVENING SHOES
AS SEEN IN VOGUE [NOW AT A MUSEUM NEAR YOU]

1926 | MISTINGUETT
WITH HER PERUGIA MONOGRAMMED SHOES

1926 | ANDRE' PERUGIA & I.MILLER
THE EUCLID GEOMETRIC PUMPS

1940 | ANDRE PERUGIA V/S LOUIS VUITTON
THE ARCH-LESS SHOE

1940 | ANDRE PERUGIA & PIERRE ROY
THE PANCHROMATIC PANTOUFLE FOR SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

1943 | (YOU NEVER KNEW IT WAS A) DELMAN SANDAL
AND A PERUGIA KNOCKOFF

1950 | ANDRE PERUGIA
ON THE BALL | TALON A BOULES

MASKS BY ANDRE' PERUGIA
THE ECHO IN PARABIAGO, MILAN AND ELSEWHERE

ANDRE PERUGIA AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
IT'S A DATE

STEPPIN IN HER I. MILLER SHOES
ISRAEL MILLER | DeLUXE SHOES


1925 | PERUGIA
BOTTIER IN NICE & PARIS
Source: Vogue

1925 | The right looking shoes
André Perugia et al

André Perugia For I.Miller
The model "La Vie"

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

1945 - 2015 | LEMMY KILMISTER

Brian’s (Robertson) fashion sense continued to shock and horrify fans throughout our tour of Europe at the end of the year. Let’s face it, ballet shoes and Motörhead do not mix! He stood out like a sore thumb, and I guess that’s what he wanted. 
Lemmy Kilmister
Motörhead founder - vocals/bass

London 1980
L to R: Lemmy (RIP), Philthy (RIP), Fast Eddie
Source: Billboard
Edgar Degas
Danseuse Espagnole Et Etudes De Jambes
Paris, Musée d'Orsay

We were already attracting fans, though – punks, old Hawkwind fans and a horde of nasty characters were coming to see us. And some of them were really getting into it. One young kid showed up at our first show in white boots and a bullet belt, just like mine – and I’d only gotten the boots two weeks before, so he was really early. From the start, we were inspiring slavish fucking loyalty in people – that’s the funny thing about Motörhead: our fans and our crews really latch on to us. 
Lemmy Kilmister

All text from:
Lemmy Kilmister
White Line Fever. The Autobiography (Simon & Schuster, 2002)


Bart Simpson & Lemmy
Treehouse Of Horror #16
Source: Gibson

Lemmy in a nutshell:
That was a great time, the summer of ’71 – I can’t remember it, but I’ll never forget it!

Monday, December 28, 2015

U P D A T E S

1957 | Beth Levine | Topless Shoe


1920 | GIACOMO BALLA
1935 | RENÉ MAGRITTE: FRIENDS & COPYCATS
LE MODÈLE ROUGE/THE RED MODEL

1940 | DAVID LEVIN
ARCH & HEEL ASSEMBLY

1950 - 1951 | SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
THE MODELS AVE AND ARCATA

1953 | ROGER VIVIER & BALLY | THE CORONATION SHOE
60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOST FAMOUS SHOE NEVER SEEN

1955 | ROGER VIVIER FOR DIOR/DELMAN
THE RHINESTONE BALL HEEL

1961-1963 | CLAES OLDENBURG
SHOES

1968 | SCULPTOR IVO BARBARESI FOR FERRAGAMO
THE SCULPTURED HEEL COLLECTION FOR SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

1970 | WHEN ELIO FIORUCCI BECAME FIORUCCI
MILAN, GALLERIA PASSARELLA | FEAT. REGINA SCHRECKER (Lady Universo)

1971 | LAGERFELD FOR MARIO VALENTINO
12 OR 13? EITHER WAY IT'S BAAAD FOR YOU [Feat. Anjelica Huston]

1973 | SALVATORE DEODATO FOR ROMEA
AT THE MAA | BELGRADE, SERBIA



4 th - 7 th Century | Sandal Soles

4 th Century | Fragments of a pair of sandals

1 st Century ? | Funerary Sandals

Saturday, December 26, 2015

ALDO SACCHETTI NOT SEEN AT LES ARTS DECORATIFS, PARIS



Ca 1960 | Aldo Sacchetti
Embroidered silk, leather and rhinestones at Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Source: Europeana Fashion


Back in 2010 we wrote to the museum of Les Arts Décoratifs (Paris) asking for info about Aldo Sacchetti. We knew they held the Aldo Sacchetti back-up collection donated by Sacchetti himself.

The museum wrote back informing us that they had 31 models from 1950s to 1985 plus many (how many?) decorated heels, all of them in storage and never exhibited. 

The museum sent us three tiny snapshots and a bill attached just in case we wanted to use them for the website. We didn't.

Now three Sacchetti models from Les Arts Décoratifs of Paris can be seen at the Europeana Fashion website - but not yet in the museum site - unfortunately without further info about the rest of the collection.


Ca 1960 | Aldo Sacchetti
Embroidered silk at Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris 


Ca 1960 | Aldo Sacchetti
Embroidered silk, leather and rhinestones at Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris 


FOOTNOTE

We are glad the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the LACMA, the Dutch Leather & Shoe Museum and all the others listed below don't follow the same silly policy of Les Art Décoratifs of Paris.


ALDO SACCHETTI
I N D E X

ALDO SACCHETTI V/S CAOVILLA
VANITY AFFAIR


Aldo Sacchetti
On display at the International Footwear Museum of Vigevano
Photograph: Irma Vivaldi

Thursday, December 24, 2015

SERENDIPITY | LOUIS XV V/S SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

Louis XV Shoe (The "Unicorn", far left)
Source: Ladies' Old-Fashioned Shoes
by T. Watson Greig (David Douglas Edinburgh, 1885)

XVIII Century (Louis XV era)
Musée International de la Chaussure, Romans
Source: The Art of the Shoe by Marie-Josèphe Bossan - Parkstone 2004

... Ferragamo confesses to have read "books on astronomy, agriculture, science, chemistry, but never books on shoes and shoemaking. Sometimes I will pick up a copy of Vogue or Harper's Bazaar and glance at the dresses because I'm interested in the general trend of fashion; but when I come to a section of shoes I flick over without bothering to read." 
Source: Salvatore Ferragamo Fashion Unfolds (Moleskine, 2014)


1938 | Ferragamo patent | Archivio di Stato
Source: Salvatore Ferragamo Fashion Unfolds (Moleskine, 2014)

1938 | Salvatore Ferragamo
Black antelope suede lace-up shoe
Source: Victoria & Albert Museum (dated 1930 - 1935)
Gift Of Wanda Ferragamo



1927 | SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
FROM THE TIP OF HER NOSE TO THE TIPS OF HER TOES

1947 | DALLAS | SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
NEIMAN-MARCUS FASHION AWARD

1950 | SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
THE MODELS AVE & ARCATA




FOOTNOTE


20th Century | Tibetan boots

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

JOHN WATERS | MONDO SHOES

Cult director John Waters about to visit his parents 
And I certainly knew better than to wear my pink leather pointy-toe Comme des Garçons tennis shoes, which I also have in bright orange. Matter of fact, I bought all six colors in the canvas style, too. I can’t get enough of Rei’s [1] pointy-toe tennis shoes, and in the summer in Provincetown I line them all up on the floor like some kind of art installation, but today I’m dressing for the family so I’d better be careful. 
John Waters
Role Models ( Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010)

Comme Des Garçons
Pink leather slip-on

Well, I’ve always thought that, physically, I’d never have to go on a diet. If you’re my age, and you have something weird on your face, my mustache, and you wear strange shoes, no one looks in the middle. 
John Waters to Dennis Cooper
Bomb magazine, interview, Spring 2004

John Waters | Comme Des Garçons shoes
At the book launch party for "Carsick" - New York May 27, 2015
Source: gettyimages

"No one looks in the middle" is one interesting theory; as far as we are concerned, neither those shoes nor the socks are a problem. The bag is.



John Waters
At the book launch party for "Carsick" - New York May 27, 2015
Source: gettyimages


Victim of the Cutting Room, nonetheless
A John Waters favorite | Comme Des Garçons
Cut-out red canvas sneaker

JOHN G. IVES:
What about foot fetishes? 
JOHN WATERS:
Well, I told you before, I'm not ... shrimping [2] to me is the most ludicrous-looking sex act. That's why I used it. And it has the Cinderella influence. It has a lot of history, that whole thing. I like shoes, but, I mean, I don't lick them. I want to buy them. 
From: John Waters by John G. Ives
Thunder's Mouth Press, 1992


2014 | John Waters | shoes & socks detail

More words of wisdom from the Pope Of Trash
Don’t wear jewelry — stick Band-Aids on your wrists or make a necklace out of them. Wear Scotch tape on the side of your face like a bad face-lift attempt. Mismatch your shoes. Best yet, do as Mink Stole used to do: go to the thrift store the day after Halloween, when the children’s trick-or-treat costumes are on sale, buy one, and wear it as your uniform of defiance. But past the age of forty you need all the help you can get.  
John Waters
Role Models (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010)


2013 | John Waters at The Film Independent Spirit Awards
Paul Smith dress, Comme Des Garçons sneakers
Source: GQ



FOOTNOTES

[1]
Rei Kawakubo: Comme des Garçons founder & anti-fashion queen

[2]
Shrimping, AKA toe sucking. It refers to a scene from 1969's 16mm "Mondo Trasho" directed by John Waters.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

1966 - 1968 | DOMENICO GNOLI | SHOES

1966 | Domenico Gnoli
Scarpa di Profilo (Sideview of a shoe)
Source: Italian Ways

1967 | Domenico Gnoli
Sotto la Scarpa (Under the Shoe)
Source: Italian Ways

SHOES & ART
1 8 3 2 - 2 0 0 9



1968 | Domenico Gnoli
Lady's Shoe
Source: Italian Ways

Friday, December 18, 2015

1975 | COLETTE WEDGES FOR RIPÀ

1975 | Colette
Shoes for Ripà's F/W Collection
Source: Ars Sutoria


Shadows and Lights was the Fall/ Winter haute couture collection of 1975/76 by Giancarlo Ripà with the help of the shoe factory Colette of Parabiago.  They chose wedge platforms for derby models, to give a more youthful tone to the classical fur-lined models.



1975 | Giancarlo Ripà | F/W haute couture collection
Shoes by Colette
Source: Ars Sutoria

1975 | Colette
Shoes for Ripà's F/W Collection
Source Ars Sutoria

1975 | Colette
Shoes for Ripà's F/W Collection
Source Ars Sutoria


COLETTE - LA FESSIBILE
[Parabiago, Milan]
I N D E X


1975 | Drawings for Ripà's F/W Collection
Source: Ars Sutoria

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

PITTI PALACE | TWENTIETH CENTURY WOMEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT | SUSAN NEVELSON | VACCARI FOR KEN SCOTT

Susan Nevelson
in front of some of her print designs for Ken Scott
Photograph: Jerry Lee Ingram | Source: Susan Nevelson


At the exhibition "Twentieth Century Women In The Spotlight" at Pitti Palace's Costume Gallery (Florence), a few dresses and accessories focus on the work of artist/textile designer Susan Nevelson (born Susan Wilson, 1924 - 2015). After modeling for artists in New York, she started her career as a painter in 1951. She specialized in printed fabric designs and from 1960 she developed the brightly colored prints so distinctive of the Ken Scott production. 
The exhibition shows the collaboration between Ken Scott and Susan Nevelson which continued after Ken Scott's death in 1991 with the company of the same name.



1971 | Sukari Evening Dress | Ken Scott
Printed textile designed by Susan Nevelson
From the collection "La komonomania" F/W 1971-72

2005 | Rose Bamboo Evening Dress
Ken Scott (the company) | Printed textile designed by Susan Nevelson
2005 S/S collection
Photographs: Irma Vivaldi

Shoes by Vaccary for Ken Scott. Year unknown. The same model in different colors with dresses from different collections. 
Pitti Palace Fashion Gallery


Among the accessories, on display four uncredited pair of shoes. The curators paired the dresses with the sole criterium of the color palette: two identical pairs (a sandal in gold kidskin and the other in black) matched dresses from 1968 and 2005, two others with dresses from 1966 and 1971. 

There are no listed credits about the shoemaker, and frankly Vaccari of Bologna - that can be read on the insole labels - deserves a little more respect.

We wrote to the Costume Gallery - twice - asking for more information but to no avail. What a Pitti!


Year unknown | Vaccari (Bologna) for Ken Scott
On display at Palazzo Pitti Fashion Gallery, 1966 High Fashion collection
Photograph: Irma Vivaldi

The shoes above are shown matching the Papavero Evening dress and apparently are Nevelson's favorite.


Susan Nevelson (and friends) wearing the Papavero Evening dress | Detail
Vaccari shoes
Photograph: Jerry Lee Ingram | Source: Susan Nevelson

Year unknown | Vaccari (Bologna) for Ken Scott
On display at Palazzo Pitti Fashion Gallery, matching the St.Anne Evening ensemble
[1988 S/S High Fashion collection]
Photograph: Irma Vivaldi

Year unknown | Vaccari (Bologna) for Ken Scott
On display at Palazzo Pitti Fashion Gallery, matching the Sukari dress
From "La komonomania di Ken Scott" F/W 1971-72 
Photograph: Irma Vivaldi

Year unknown | Vaccari for Ken Scott
Photograph: Irma Vivaldi

VACCARI | BOLOGNA
I N D E X


Year unknown | Vaccari for Ken Scott | Detail
Photo by Irma Vivaldi


Monday, December 14, 2015

STILLER VS. STILLER | MODERN ADVERTISING STARTS HERE

1907 - 1908 | Stiller Shoes | Berlin
Design by Lucian Bernhard | Colour litograph on paper

"This is a poster advertising German shoes. Lucian Bernhard (died 1972) devised the new style of poster in 1902. He displayed the product in splendid isolation, accompanied only by its name. Both elements were drawn directly on the stone (for lithographic printing) and printed in rich colours. This sachplakat or new ‘object poster’ inspired many artists associated with Hollerbaum & Schmidt, the leading printers in Berlin, to follow his example." 
Source: Victoria & Albert Museum 

I must say, the project for the matches Priester - point of origin of the Sachplakat style - is dated 1903; anyway, as strange as it is, the Stiller ads are crucial to the history of language and visual communication. Before everybody, graphic designer Lucian Bernhard introduced the first commandment of visual advertising: etch in the customer's brain what you want to sell and what it is called. The second Stiller ad (below) was designed by Ludwig Hohlwein and it mirrors his friend/colleague (and rival) Bernhard because his client, Stiller Jr., was competing against his own father.
So, that's how it all started: a pair of shoes and family bad blood. 
Adolfo Conti | DocArt


CA. 1909 | Carl Stiller Jr shoes, Munich
Design by Ludwig Hohlwein | Colour litograph

My appreciation of the past helped me do the illustration for "Whatever Happened to Father?", a cover for the New York Times Magazine. Here my inspiration was the graphic genius Ludwig Hohlwein, the leading German poster artist of the 1930s, who was known for reducing an image to its essential elements. 
Seymour Chwast
From "The Left Handed Designer" (Harry N. Abrams, 1985)
Source: PrintMag

Saturday, December 12, 2015

1928 - 1929 | GIACOMO BALLA | STUDY FOR A WOMAN'S SHOE

1928 - 1929 | Giacomo Balla
Study For A Woman's Shoe
Source: Il Futurismo E La Moda (Enrico Crispolti - Marsilio, 1988)

1920 | GIACOMO BALLA
PAINTED LASTS | FUTURISM EXPLAINED TO A COBBLER

SHOES & ART

Thursday, December 10, 2015

1972 | MARAZZINI | THE PINEAPPLE PLATFORM AT THE DUTCH LEATHER & SHOE MUSEUM

1972 | Marazzini | Parabiago
Pineapple sole by P.M.B. | Vigevano
Courtesy of Inge Specht-den Boer | Dutch Leather & Shoe Museum


You can't say it's a beauty, but it wasn't meant to be (well, we hope so) but rather to show the infinite possibilities of the then new polyurethane technology applied to soles and heels. Parabiago's Marazzini designed it with the help of Mr. Pagani from Vigevano with whom he struck a partnership called P.M.B (see ad below).

The model was showcased at the Bologna Footwear Fair (March 1972) and a sample is kept at the ever surprising Dutch Leather & Shoe Museum, brought to our attention by curator/wonder woman Inge Specht-den Boer.



1972 | Marazzini | Parabiago
Pineapple sole by P.M.B. | Vigevano
Source: Foto Shoe magazine

1972 | Creazioni Stefano Marazzini At The MET Museum
Designed by Salvatore Deodato

1972 | Stefano Marazzini & Salvatore Deodato
For Bayer


1972 | Pineapple sole by P.M.B. | Vigevano
Source: Foto Shoe magazine

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

1948 | URIC MAGAZINE V/S DELMAN (FEAT. DAVID LEVIN)

1948 | Sandals with overturned sole | First page
URIC magazine #77

ORIGINAL ENGLISH CAPTION 
Once again, fitly adjusted to the modern taste, we present these original creations with overturned and coloured sole: system already shown among the pages of one of our Reviews of some years ago. We are sure to carry over the field of fashion a shoe perfectly answering to comfort requirements and to a perfect smartness. 
URIC magazine # 77 | Summer 1948
(URIC stands for Unica Rassegna Italiana Calzature)

Broken English is nothing new at TheHistorialist, we know that, but the translator at URIC magazine was even worse. Spaghetti-English aside, we learned that it was done before 1948, probably as soon the war madness ended. Anyway, as far as we are concerned, the Delman sandal here below might be a copy, a mix between the first model (top left on the drawing) and third (bottom left). After all, Delman used to have a Paris design studio churning out design after design for the American market, not all of them originals. Their (Delman) turn to prove it otherwise.


1940-1949 | Delman | leather and silk sandal
Gift of Herman Delman, 1955

1948 | Sandals with overturned sole | Second page
URIC magazine #77


FOOTNOTE
Not to say the designers at URIC magazine were shy to knock off a foreign model, far from it; all the same the ever surprising David Levin came up with the same general idea (overturned sole) back in 1941.

1941 | David Levin
Filed May 21, 1941 | Granted June 17, 1941
Source: Google Patents