The SCAD Museum of Fashion and Film just opened their new exhibit, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain this past Thursday night, the 13th of April. The exhibit will be available for view now until the 13th of August. It is a collaboration with the esteemed Victoria & Albert Museum. My friend Emily, who is from the UK, was excited when she saw V&A logo, and told me that it is a popular museum in London started by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852. The V&A is loaning a portion of their shoe closet to SCADFASH. However, the exhibit is more than just pretty shoes on pedestals. It’s about the culture, the mystique, the making, and the craze behind shoes. There are plenty of reasons to visit the exhibit.
The first reason may be to answer the burning question: why do we wear shoes that give us blisters and make us bleed? I mean, even the comfiest pair of Nike trainers I own have rubbed my heels raw until I break them in. Is this just a part of the deal we make with the devil who wears Prada? As the V&A’s Director, Martin Roth, politely puts it: there is “an enduring link between suffering, sex and style.” No pain, no gain, it is, I guess.
The second reason you should go to the exhibit is to be dazzled by spectacular shoes. The lab coat-wearing SCADFASH guides/students can answer all your questions and tell you the cool backstories behind the shoes on display. They will also remind you before entering that there is no photography allowed, which is okay because there is so much to take in that a the camera would get in the way and distract you from all the details. There are five sections to the exhibit: Transformation, Status, Seduction, Obsession, and Creation.
Yes, shoes can transform you in to anything. You can wear Vans to be a skater, ballet slippers to be a ballerina, flip flops to be a beach bum –there is no limit to what you can wear and become. How does the saying go? To understand someone you must put yourself in their shoes. The Transformation section has two cabinets with mirrors all around, so that you can look at yourself and envision what you would look like wearing the shoes displayed before you. Your eye will be caught by the glistening of the iconic glass slippers from the 2015 Cinderella movie. I laugh out loud at the line from the movie where the Fairy God Mother says, “And they are surprisingly comfortable!” because I’m doubtful about the truth behind that statement. A pair of red ballet slippers sit directly across from the glass slippers, and they are the pair worn in the movie “The Red Shoes,” which is a 1948 movie retelling the Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale. There is also a pair of Mary Janes designed by Manolo Blahnik. The lead character of “Sex and the City”, Carrie Bradshaw may have lived on a writer’s paycheck, but she pretended to live a life of luxury with each step in her precious Manolo’s. Shoes do transform you!
Status is also shown through what you wear on your feet. Pumps with red soles designed by Christian Louboutin are one way to show your wealth. Rhinestone covered, sparkling platform boots where worn by the likes of David Bowie and Elton John to say, “Hey, look at me rocking these heels!” Some shoes weren’t even meant to be taken for a stroll. Various “flower bowl” shoes are displayed throughout the exhibit to show the sad extremes of footwear that show status. Foot binding was heavily practiced custom in China from the 11th to the 20th century. A woman’s foot was wrapped and bandaged to change the shape gradually over years. The idea was that a rich man should be able to provide enough for his wife that she does not need to perform any manual labor. A woman’s foot was made to look like a lotus flower, and her gait was dainty. By comparison, I’d say six inch stilettos are probably more comfortable than “flower bowl” shoes.
The Seduction section is red hot with passion and sexual appeal. There are mules so small that they easily slip right off. One particular mule has a red puff ball on the toe, which reminds me of Tinkerbell’s tiny shoes. There are beefy, black leather biker boots on display and I’m sure wearing them would make you feel like James Dean. There is a stilted slip called a geta, which were worn by Chinese empresses. Rather than walking by lifting with the knee, the empresses were forced by the tall getas to swing there foot to the outside and waddle slowly. There is also pair of ballerina stilettos designed by Christian Louboutin which are impossible to walk in because of the oddly angled heel. And I don’t think the wearer was meant to walk in these, but rather crawl. And I’m not going to dive any deeper into the whole foot fetish thing.
Japanese Geta, courtesy of tsuru.fr
Women are typically pointed out as the crazy collectors of shoes, but I know plenty of guys who collect Nike sneakers and Gucci oxfords. However, none can surpass the obsession of Lionel Bussey, a British mechanical engineer and shoe collector, who lived from 1883 to 1969. Starting in 1914, he collected roughly 600 pairs of shoes. His collection shows the varying styles worn through the early 20th century. In his will, he requested that his collection be given to a museum. The Victoria & Albert Museum bought many pairs for their exhibition. I’d say the highlight of the Bussey collection is a red leather laced boot which sits on the highest pedestal. It’s so perfectly formed to every curve of the heel and calf. The tragic part of the collection though is that none of the shoes were ever worn.
And of course, to finish the collection off there is the Creation section where one can learn about the craft of shoemaking. Wooden feet hang along the wall, and I learned that these are called “lasts,” which are the forms used to shape shoes. Shoemakers will first use masking tape to cover the last and preplan the pattern. Then, they’ll take the leather, or other material, and cut them using a paper pattern to make what is called an “upper.” Then the “upper” is pulled and shaped over the form. In the same cabinet that showcases the shoemaking demonstrations is 20 heel samples on display, which show spike heels in varying colors and materials. These heels reminded my friend Emily of shoes with interchangeable heels, which sounds like a brilliant idea. There are some other really inventive shoes in this section, as well. A pair, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, uses a sculptural cantilever system to allow the wearer to walk without a heel for support. Another pair of blue and orange heels were made using 3D printing and designed by architect Julian Hakes is called the ‘Mojito’ because it looks like a twisted lime peel. These should be showcased as modern art at the High.
Bonus sections: there is a display of shoes along the wall which are open for the public to touch and admire. This is a wonderful opportunity for tactile people to pick up, poke, and peek at some fascinating shoes. There is the shoe from a suit of armor, there is a white furry boot which could be the foot of a polar bear, there are a few thigh-high boots, there is a cowboy boot with a toe tip so long it could poke an eye out, and more. There are also TVs displaying commentary and iconic scenes from movies like Juice, Midnight Cowboy, Some Like It Hot, Back to the Future II, The Red Shoes and Marie Antoinette. I’m certain everyone would love of pair of self-lacing Nike’s just like the ones Marty McFly wears in the better version of the year 2015.
The fabulous SCAD Fashion Museum also provides multiple opportunities and events for guests and students to further engage. There is a book available for reading and purchase called Shoes: Pleasure and Pain written by curator Helen Persson and published by the V&A. The book takes a more extensive look at the V&A’s shoe collection. Also, some of my favorite events to attend are the movie screenings held in the comfy lounge of the museum. The couches are far better than any movie theater chair and there are furry pillows to cuddle. The museum plans to screen the movie The Red Shoes on May 11th at 5pm. There is also talk about the movie Kinky Boots being screened, which is about the making of custom footwear for drag queens.
SCAD FASH is a fantastic and free museum that all SCAD students should take advantage of. While visitor tickets are only $5! One of my favorite things to do in Drawing I was to take a sketch book up to SCAD FASH and sketch the fabrics. It’s a wonderful resource on the roof – and such a unique way to showcase the shoes that are too expensive to buy and far too painful to wear.