In collaboration with Convergence, VOICE OF ASIA is proud to present timeless articles from the archives, reproduced digitally for your reading pleasure. Originally published in Convergence Volume 16 in 2013, we present this story on some of the most iconic shoes designed for either fiction or for real women to strut their stuff.
A pair of shoes makes or breaks an entire ensemble. You can wear a plain, old black dress with absolutely no embellishment, no jewellery, no make-up … but, wear a pair of ‘killer-shoes’ and you are dressed up, baby! Go out with the most expensive dress or gown, with perfectly coffered hair… but, pair it with flat, boring heels and suddenly, you look and feel like the average tea lady.
Besides being very attractive conversation pieces for both their beauty and as the ultimate modern torture instrument, shoes have powerful appeal for the opposite sex – seducing without words. Which is why, in the world of entertainment and fashion, shoes, ladies and gentlemen, are the prima donna of the stage. Convergence slips into some pretty fancy shoes that deserve a mention due to their iconic status – achieved through fame, fortune and feisty design.
Walking The Path to Fame – Dorothy’s Red Ruby Shoes
In the history of show business shoes, none have achieved as much glittery attention as Dorothy’s magical red ones in the movie The Wizard of Oz.
as was customary for important props, a number of pairs were made for the film, though only five pairs are known to have survived and because of their iconic stature, they are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia.
The slippers were designed by Gilbert adrian, MGM’s chief costume designer. in L. frank Baum’s original novel, Dorothy wore silver shoes, but the movie’s creators changed them to ruby to take advantage of the new Technicolor film process.
The pairs were made from white silk pumps that were dyed red. Burgundy sequined organza (about 2,300 sequins per shoe) overlays were then attached to the upper and heel of each shoe. The film’s early three-strip Technicolor process required the sequins to be darker than most red sequins found today; bright red sequins would have appeared orange on screen. Two weeks before the start of shooting of the film, adrian added butterfly-shaped red strap leather bows. Each of the art Deco-inspired bows had three large, rectangular, red-glass jewels with dark red bugle beads, outlined in red glass rhinestones in silver settings. The stones and beads were sown to the bows, then to the organza-covered shoe.
Why the cult status?
The shoes had evil origins. originally belonging to the Wicked Witch of the East, who was killed when Dorothy’s home fell on her, Dorothy puts them on to protect herself from the Wicked Witch of the West. Throughout the movie, as she dances along the Yellow Brick Road, the shoes become the focus of attention until the last part, when she realises that all she has to do to return home, is to simply click her heels three times and repeat “There’s no place like home.” Don’t we all wish we had shoes like that?
Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo Blahniks
Paloma Picasso, Bianca Jagger and the late Princess Diana were the first to jump on the bandwagon of desire in the early 1970s and 1980s. Then came Madonna, who said, that ‘these’ were as good as sex, and last longer. By 1998, the year the Sex and the City series debuted, The New York Times hailed Blahnik as the “high priest of the high heel.”
no other shoes have inspired such devotion, but shoe-aholic Carrie Bradshaw is probably the world’s most famous Manolo Blahnik wearer (up to the point she realises she cannot buy an apartment but has spent US$40,000 on a closet full of Blahniks instead) and her obsession with Manolos had women the world over panting for a pair too.
In a 2000 episode of hBo’s Sex and the City, the shoe-addicted lead, Carrie Bradshaw, is mugged in a downtown alley. “Your watch and your ring—quick,” the thug demands. Pointing a gun at her feet, he adds, “and your Manolo Blahniks.” Carrie’s face registers shock. “What?” she glances down at her beloved strappy sandals. “no!,” she gasps. Even with a gun leveled at her, Carrie begs for shoe mercy: “Please, sir, they’re my favourite pair!”
in another episode, as she raids the Vogue accessories closet, Carrie finds the Manolo Blahnik Campari, a high-heeled black patent Mary Jane shoe and she whispers in quivering excitement, “I thought these were an urban shoe myth,” and so did thousands of Blahnik fans, who have searched for the elusive shoes since 1994. The popularity of the shoes got Blahnik to create the shoes again to satiate the hungry elite.
The admiration is apparently mutual.
“i adore Sarah Jessica Parker, (the actress who plays Carrie Bradshaw),” Blahnik reveals. “The character she played has had such a role in my career – I cannot help but regard both of them as muses! I adore cinema generally and a large chunk of my collections is inspired by it. It could be a character, a scene, or just the spirit of a movie. i watch them all night long.”
“First, I sketch. it comes to me like a puff. I materialise it with pencil or brush, and then the next thing is I have to sculpt it out of wood… The first sample is all by hand.”
And the hand that rocks the heel, rules the world… of shoes.
Cinderella’s Glass Slippers
From the cradle, girls have been led to believe that all dreams come true, if you just wear the right pair of shoes. They have to fit, to boot (pun intended). Just look at Cinderella.
Yes, she had a fairy godmother who had to go to all that trouble to create a bejewelled dress out of rags, a carriage out of a pumpkin, horses out of mice, a coachman out of a rat and footmen out of lizards and… of course, unearthly, delicate glass shoes just so the poor girl could go to a rich ball and win the prince. With that much of magic in one tiny little wand, one wonders why she could not just turn the Prince’s attention to Cinderella from the very beginning with a swish of that powerful stick, but we digress.
Our focus is the shoe. All the Prince had was one shoe, after his ‘goddess’ of the night disappeared (quite rudely, after all that dancing and canoodling) at the stroke of 12 midnight. He attempts to find her with that shoe, but no matter who tried it on to win the Prince’s heart, only one fair maiden had the perfect fit. We wonder what size that would have been – that no one could fit it but just one out of perhaps thousands. A size 1? Size 15?
But we guess the moral of the story is, you don’t ‘find’ a shoe – it ‘finds’ you. it calls to you, it owns you, it possesses you. And so, little girls grow up to be young women, always looking for a shoe that brings magic into their lives, in a wistful hope that those shoes will literally lead them out of their dreary existence into a wonderful, mythical world where dreams come true. The only snag is, we don’t stop at one. A hundred and still counting, we are still searching…
My Shoe is My Fortune
When it comes to show-stopping extravagance in the world of shoe business, nothing screams OPULENCE like a pair of Stuart Weitzman; in fact, four pairs of Stuart Weitzmans which have made it to the top four out of five of the most expensive shoes in the world.
At US$ 3 million, we begin with a shoe that was inspired by a pair of earrings laden with rubies, sapphires and diamonds owned by movie legend, Rita hayworth. simply called the Stuart Weitzman Rita Hayworth heels, they now belong to Hayworth’s daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.
Also sharing the tag of the most expensive shoe in the world are a pair of ruby slippers from the house of Harry Winston. Created in 1989 to mark the 50th anniversary of hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, the shoe is adorned with 4,600 rubies and 50 Carats of diamonds. Craftsman Javiar Barerra reportedly took two months to just set the jewels in place.
At US$ 2 million, Stuart Weitzman bags both the ‘second most expensive pair of shoes in the world’ spot with his ethereal Cinderella slippers and elegant Tanzanite heels.
The Cinderella slippers are not made of glass, but pure fantasy. These 4 and a half inch stilettos bear 565 diamonds weighing a total of 55 Carats between the two shoes. On the right slipper, is a single 5-Carat amaretto diamond worth Us$1,000,000. The diamonds rest on the finest Italian leather with a slight touch of gold. If the real Cinderella had lost this pair at midnight, the Prince might have kept the shoe and ditched the girl.
Stuart Weitzman Tanzanite Heels is a bejewelled stunner that holds 385 gems. The ankle strap alone features 185 Carats of a rare African gem called Tanzanite. To add fire to the dangerous sparkle are 28 Carats worth of diamonds on the front strap. The 213 Carats of desire adorn a base of silver Italian leather, which is a perfect foil for the glow of the jewels above.
At US$ 1.6 million, here’s another tribute to Dorothy’s Red shoes from the Wizard of Oz! Stuart Weitzman’s ruby encrusted, aptly named Ruby Slippers are embedded with gemstones that were methodically placed on over half a pound of pure woven platinum covered with a smooth red satin finish. Jeweller Oscar Heyman & Bros contributed 642 round and oval rubies totalling 123.33 Carats, to these 4 1/2 inch red stilettos.
The Style Icons
There are shoes, and then there are THE SHOES. The latter are for the brave, and the very, VERY stylish. You have to have oodles of confidence, courage and commitment to fashion to strut around in a pair of Chanel’s Pistol Shoes. Or legs of steel to dance in McQueen’s Armadillos. And if you feel a little naughty, Cage them up YSL’s Boots. These are the original ‘killer-shoes’ that launched a thousand copycats, in varying heights and concepts. The Style Icons go where angels fear to tread, so still your beating hearts as you join us on a quest to discover the 10 most famous fashion-bending shoes ever.
Chanel’s Pistol Shoes
Women worldwide avidly search for the ultimate pair of killer heels and Chanel just might have made the heels which will make the venturesome woman a bona-fide killer. Locked and loaded with style, these 90mm gun-heeled kicks are the ultimate accessory (to murder), creating a style-showdown bloodbath in your shoe closet.
Alexander McQueen’s Armadillo Shoes
There are only 21 pairs in existence, and these 10-inch heels from McQueen’s spring 2010 collection are about Us$3,900 to $10,000 a pair, depending on style, skin, and embroidery. Whether an ordinary mortal could walk in them is quite questionable. so why are these outrageous, unaffordable, incomprehensible lobster-claw boots all the rage? To quote McQueen, “The world needs fantasy, not reality. We have enough reality today.” so, yes, escapism through shoes is the way, it seems.
Prada’s Flame Shoes
Goodness gracious great balls of fire – well the ball of your foot anyway. sizzling onto the fashion scene with smoking hot aplomb, Prada put their best foot forward with a flame-tailed foot spectacle that lit up the catwalk and burned down disco’s around the globe. Flamin’ gorgeous.
Vivienne Westwood’s Ghillie Heels
Westwood puts women where they firmly belong – on a pedestal, with these towering numbers that make the fashion savvy lady the centre of attention, and change her centre of gravity. Boasting nine-inch heels and four-inch platforms, these shoes are the pair that caused Naomi Campbell’s well-publicised fall when modelling on the catwalk, though in these, it is more a fall from heaven than fall from grace.
Terry de Havilland’s Wedges
Retro design, seductive styling and, hang on? Comfort?! Women are used to going to heel, sorry, hell and back putting up with pain in the pursuit of style, but English cobbler de Havilland became the godsend of a legion of women with a striking, sturdy pair of shoes that will last into the night. Well, as long as the wearer can last, of course.
Yves St Laurent’s Cage Boots
The fire and passion of a woman can never be caged, though as we all know the rules are off when it comes to which footwear she will slide her feet into. Since stomping onto the scene in 2009, these YSL efforts locked fashion up and threw away the key. When your feet have been as naughty as the rest of you intend to be, the best thing to do is put them safely behind bars.
Christian Louboutin’s Red Soled Pumps
Possibly the most clear-cut sign that you have just had your heart broken by a style icon is when she walks away and you see the red-soled radical Louboutin pumps. The designer’s signature mark on the shoe is a patented print, commonly known as ‘sammy red-bottoms’ that will help any fashionista paint the town, and the night, a blazing trail of red.
Jimmy Choo’s Feather Heels
Jimmy Choo’s feathered heels took flight upon first release, and were soon being worn by every pretty bird that skipped along the red carpet. An instant style classic, hand-applied feathers and crystals reflected the designer’s ability to re-invent and re-imagine the template for the high-heel, yet another ‘must-have, must wear’ from the genius, Jimmy.
Nicholas Kirkwood’s Sprayed Suede Shoes
An unmistakable style, Nicholas Kirkwood’s suede sprayed shoes per-sueded shoe-lovers across the globe to the wonder of his creations. Sarah Jessica Parker was seen in these turquoise numbers which are collectable and delectable. Making a fashion statement? Spray it, don’t say it.
Balenciaga’s Gladiator Shoes
Often imitated, never emulated. The Gladiator shoes that spawned a thousand copycats, Balenciaga’s originals still remain the best, emerging from battle with its poor cousins resoundingly victorious. high calf-length straps became the high-fashion trend, and while Rome wasn’t built in a day, a new fashion trend certainly was with these outlandish boots.
