Shoe Obsession

by Valerie Steele, Colleen Hill

An astute exploration of the most outrageous shoe designs of the 21st century

This fabulously illustrated book explores western culture’s fascination with extravagant and fashionable shoes. Over the past decade, shoe design has become increasingly central to fashion, with fashion companies paying ever more attention to shoes and other accessories. High-heeled shoes, in particular, have become the fashion accessory of the 21st century. Co-written by one of the world’s leading historians of fashion and an authority on fashion accessories, the book features approximately 150 pairs of the most extreme and ultra-fashionable styles of the past 12 years, including work by such prominent designers as Manolo Blahnik, Pierre Hardy, Christian Louboutin and Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier, as well as shoes by influential design houses such as Azzedine Alaïa, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Prada. Avant-garde styles by up-and-coming designers such as Japan’s Kei Kagami and Noritaka Tatehana are also highlighted. Shoe Obsession examines recent extreme and fantastical shoe styles in relation to the history of high heels, the role of shoes as a reflection of their wearers’ personality traits, and the importance of shoes in art and exhibitions. The book is lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs of spectacular contemporary shoe designs.

Published in association with The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York

Exhibition The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
(02/07/13-04/13/13)

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Photography

284 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2013

About the author

Valerie Steele is director and chief curator and Melissa Marra is associate curator of education and public programs, both at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.

Reviews

[Svalbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come sempre in questo tipo di libri, l'unico, grande difetto sta nel mostrare le scarpe "disabitate", oggetti d'arte e di stile, ma sostanzialmente dei soprammobili, privi del loro... contenuto in grado di dargli vita e senso. Peccato davvero, perché, al di là dell'ampio e interessantissimo apparato introduttivo, le scarpe illustrate in questo libro monumentale sono veramente splendide. I nomi sono i soliti, noti e meno noti. Fa comunque specie il fatto che queste specialissime e spesso originalissime scarpe non si vedano mai, non dico ai piedi delle donne che conducono la loro vita quotidiana per strada e al lavoro (anche considerato il loro prezzo e la probabile scomodità) ma nemmeno a quelli delle dive, dei personaggi da riviste e televisione... Forse è proprio di questo che si tratta, in fondo: di pregevolissimi oggetti da collezione, più da guardare che da usare. Del resto, il libro illustra proprio pezzi presi da ricche collezioni: tanto quelle degli stilisti che li hanno creati, quanto quelle - e forse è la sorpresa più curiosa - di alcune collezioniste private, alle quali, alla fine del libro, sono anche dedicate delle pagine di crediti con foto e note biografiche. Queste collezioniste sono tutte donne bellissime, sofisticatissime e ricchissime, tra cui anche una baronessa tedesca. Per tutte le altre, Pittarello e andare...

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a shoe-gasmic shoe-stravaganza for all fans of designer shoes. It features, alphabetically, every major shoe designer, fashion house and artist working in show design today. There are plenty of detailed colour photos of the shoes in all their glory, many of them belonging to private shoe collections, with the collectors featured at the end of the book.
The only drawback is the cover image, with the black and white photo not really doing justice to the contents of the book, making it look far less of a visual feast than it actually is.

[Mills College Library]

391.413 S8145 2012

[Christine Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

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