“Shoe Obsession” The Museum Exhibit

December 14, 2012 in News by Bernd Ruhl

The New Year is looking very promising already. We have something to look forward to come February 8 – April 13, 2013. It would be a great time to plan a trip to New York City for a shoe culture worthy Museum visit. Claim it as a school trip if you must, this definitely qualifies.

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT) presents Shoe Obsession, an exhibition that examines our culture’s ever-growing fascination with extravagant and fashionable shoes. In fact, designer shoes have overtaken “It” bags as the most coveted fashion accessories. In response, shoe departments in major department stores have undergone significant expansions, and the “great designer shoe wars” have escalated. Over the past decade, heels have reached new heights —as have prices. High-heeled shoes—the fashion shoes of the 21^stcentury—have become so tall that even a 4-inch heel is considered “low.”

Roger Vivier’s Eyelash Heel pump from fall ’12

Shoe Obsession will feature approximately 150 examples of contemporary footwear, highlighting the extreme, lavish, and imaginative styles that have made shoes central to fashion.

The popularity of designer shoes has grown rapidly. Little more than a decade ago, appreciation of Blahnik’s feminine, elegant designs was limited primarily to fashion insiders. Then the style-conscious characters on the popular television series Sex and the City were presented as obsessive about his shoes, and Manolo Blahnik became a household name. Shoe Obsession will include a pair of Blahnik’s rhinestone-buckled, silver D’Orsay shoes—a version of which was used in a 2003 Sex and the City episode titled “A Woman’s Right to Shoes.”

Pierre Hardy fall ’10

Daphne Guinness—one of today’s most influential style icons—will also lend a selection of her heels, including extreme examples by Alexander McQueen and Nina Ricci.

Some notable iconic shoes will be on view February 8 – April 13, 2013, at The Museum at FIT in New York City. Admission is free and open to the public.

Be sure to save the date to check out some of the best shoes ever made. We definitely can not wait to see them all!