The latest exhibition at the V&A is pleasure and pain all rolled into one. If you are a lover of shoes, or embroidery, or historical costume, or boots or are a collector of shoes (as I am sure a few of us are) then this is the exhibition for you.
The exhibition displays the fabulous, exquisite pieces like sweets in the window of an exclusive Parisian Chocolate shop. Each pair staged to be admired.
The shoes are grouped in collections, each inspired by a theme of – ‘fashion’, ‘obsession’, ‘cinema’, ‘showing a bit of leg’, ‘shoes to entice’, ‘fit for a king’, ‘Royalty’. All truly yummy. Here are just a few of the enticing goodies on display. Enjoy.
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| The Glass Slipper from the 2015 Disney Movie ‘Cinderella’, as worn by Lily James. Designed by Sandy Powell. |
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| The red ballet shoes as worn in the 1948 movie ‘The Red Shoes’ |
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| Shoes fit for a king |
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| Men’s Mojari shoes, India 1800 – Cotton, silk, gilded silver thread embroidery. Possibly owned by the Nawab of Awadh. |
Such tiny shoes for an adult not a child.
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| Shoes for Bound feet, China 1740 – silk, sequins, metal thread embroidery, linen and leather. Popular footwear in Han Chinese society. |
Here are some shoes worn by British Royalty – Queen Victoria and the Duchess of Cambridge; the French Royalty or rather the mistress of Louis XV; and Celebrity Royalty – Kylie Minogue’s Prada killer heels and Carrie’s famous Jimmy Choo’s from Sex in the City.
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| Shoes fit for a Queen, a future Queen and Carrie’s from ‘Sex in the City’ |
There is something for everyone. I visited with the notion that I was about to spend a few hours looking at lots of scrummy shoes, but it was so much more! I left, my mind buzzing with embroidery, textures of fabrics and leather, colour combinations and beading. Visit if you can. The exhibition is on until the 31st January 2016.
