blog.mode: addressing fashion

Maniatis Bottier (French, founded 1920). Boots, 1920s. Left: Black leather, gold leather trim, and black twined cotton laces. Alfred Z. Solomon-Janet A. Sloane Endowment Fund, 2007 (2007.56a, b). Right: Red leather with black leather trim. Alfred Z. Solomon-Janet A. Sloane Endowment Fund, 2007 (2007.57a, b).

Maniatis, who was born in Greece, provided customized footwear for the likes of Cary Grant and Jean Gabin from his Paris shop in the ninth arrondissement. His location, near the Pigalle red-light district, perhaps helps to explain the design of these boots. Read more »

Left: British Slippers, last quarter of the 18th century. Black leather. Gift of Charles Ryskamp, 2002 (2002.537.2a, b). Right: European Shoes, ca. 1750–60. Green silk satin with tarnished gilt floral embroidery. Purchase, Millia Davenport and Zipporah Fleisher Fund, Irene Lewisohn Trust, 2001 (2001.748a, b).

Quotidian fashions of the past, even if they were intended for the upper classes, rarely survive. With the exception of formal court attire, this is especially true of menswear, Read more »

Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Germany, 1938) for Chanel (French, founded 1913). Boots, fall/winter 1993–94. White quilted nylon, black rubber with white inset lettering, black vinyl, black braided nylon and gilt chain ties, and black synthetic faux fur trim. Purchase, The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Inc. Gift, 2007 (2007.17a, b).

By the 1980s, a decade after the death of its eponymous founder, the House of Chanel was seen to epitomize classic French taste. As an Establishment brand, it was a respected, but somewhat senescent, institution. All that changed with the appointment of Karl Lagerfeld Read more »

Turkish Shoes, 1850–55. Beige rep silk with black silk gros-de-naples foliate design in tapestry weave and black painted wood heel. Purchase, Judith and Ira Sommer Gift, 2005 (2005.113a, b).

The elegant black foliate patterned textile of these shoes was woven by hand, á la disposition, to conform to the pattern piece of the uppers. Read more »

Manolo Blahnik (Spanish, b. 1942). “Bhutan” Shoe, spring/summer 2006. Black leather with white synthetic thread topstitching and brass hardware. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Manolo Blahnik, 2006 (2006.512.6).

To have an entire category of apparel—in this case, high-fashion shoes—known by one’s given name is a fashion creator’s transfiguration. Read more »

Vivienne Westwood (British, b. 1941). Shoes, autumn/winter 1990. Hot pink crocodile-embossed patent leather. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Millia Davenport and Zipporah Fleisher Fund, 2006 (2006.14a, b).

A strategy of épater les bourgeois has informed much of Vivienne Westwood’s career. While many of her early collections were directly associated with the incendiary margins of street style and the London club scene, she also incorporated references to the louche world of the sex trade. Read more »

Manolo Blahnik (Spanish, b. 1942) and Damien Hirst (British, b. 1965). “Dot” Boots, 2002. White cotton canvas with polychrome polka-dot print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Breyer Van Bomel Foundation Fund, 2003 (2003.52a, b).

In an intersection of contemporary art and fashion the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik worked with Damien Hirst on this design. Read more »