5 shoes that shaped the fashion history From stilettos to Pilgrim pumps, from sneakers to boots
From the gold-trimmed sandals worn by Cleopatra to the cuissardes boots by Courrèges, from the velvet and silk mules of the seventeenth century to the fake crocodile platforms of Vivienne Westwood in 1993, from the footwear with natural rubber soles worn by Henry VIII for relaxation at the waffle sole by Bowerman (Nike), shoes have a story that goes beyond the simple narration.
In fact, shoes can define a historical moment, as when in 1943 - during the Second World War - the Commission for American war production announced their rationing, prohibiting two-tone shoes, gold or silver, limiting the women's heel to a maximum height. of 14 centimeters and eliminating everything that was not necessary. Shoes also define the walk of the wearer, as in the case of Marilyn Monroe who, in order to sway in the gait and highlight her female body, is said to have made a shoe with a higher heel than the other - although this is probably just an anecdote.
And then there are also those who took off their shoes, like Isadora Duncan, who often performed in the gesture of throwing them away and remained to dance barefoot. Therefore, whether they are stilettos, sandals or Chelsea boots, shoes cannot be described as a simple accessory, but rather as a symbol, narrative feature and distinctive element of our personality. So here are some hints of history on 5 types of iconic shoes that have been able to make people talk about themselves and those who wore them.
Stiletto
It might seem almost absurd to think that at the time of Henry VIII shoes with natural rubber soles were used for moments of relaxation, yet it is so, the sneaker, which represents our contemporaneity par excellence, has its roots in distant times, although it was known and worn all over the world in the 1980s. Originally put on the market with the name of athletic shoe, it was immediately renamed sneakers for the ability to move silently - to sneak - that was acquired by wearing them. In 1917 Converse launched its All Star on the market, a few years later the German brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler created their footwear business for athletes, in 1942 - after a quarrel - they separated and founded adidas and Puma. Then in the 1970s, University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman and track and field champion Phil Knight began designing shoes and founded Nike. Sneakers immediately began to be worn by everyone as a leisure shoe and soon entered the daily dress code of most people. Today, designers from all over the world reinterpret the various types of footwear by changing their shape and reinterpreting them, yet sneakers, as also stated by the archives of the V&A museum, are the only shoes that, even if reinterpreted, have remained constant in the history of fashion.
