Roger Vivier
For some reason I am stuck on the topic of shoes….yesterdays were fun and fanciful. Todays are equally fun and fanciful but you can actually wear them!
Roger Vivier, an innovative shoe designer influencing heel and toe shapes on women’s shoes has been a fixture in the fashion world for years. While working for Christian Dior in the late 50’s, he designed the emerald encrusted shoes worn by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation. The real turning point for him was his Pilgrim buckle shoes, introduced in 1965 to accessorize Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian collection which were an instant hit and became iconic, being worn by Princess Grace, Princess Margaret, Elizabeth Taylor and members of the Rothschild family.
Two years later, Catherine Deneuve, playing a bourgeois housewife who escapes her boredom by becoming a prostitute in “Belle de Jour“, wore Mr. Vivier’s buckle shoes and they became an instant success. The buckle has become the house’s signature motif and is used not only on their shoes, but handbags and jewelry as well. 
This bead encrusted shoe has found it’s way into the Metropolitan Museum of art and is a wonderful example of Mr. Vivier’s very creative and outrageous side. The heel that you see, is called the comma heel that is credited to the designer and shows up on many elaborate pairs of shoes that he did. I would LOVE to own this pair. Very Marie Antionette, don’t you think?
In 2004, Bruno Frisoni took over as the label’s creative director and has injected a cutting edge, contemporary feeling to the shoes that are being created today. In addition, the woman in the picture, Inès de la Fressange, former muse to Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, acts as brand ambassador (I so could do that!!) dripping with style which includes, of course, big silver buckles. If I was going to plunk a big chunk of change on a counter for a pair of shoes, I think I would have to pick something from this line. I know my girls will roll their eyes when they read this as they know my goal is a pair of Christian Louboutin but I don’t think I could go wrong with this particular style. Like all my other big ticket purchases, when the bill comes I can say, “But they go with EVERYTHING. And I’ll have them FOREVER!
While you are in Paris stop by his boutique at 29, rue du Faubourg St Honoré.
Photo credit: Atsuko Tanaka, style.com, metmuseum.org , wikipedia
Tags: , b5media, Belle de Jour, Bruno Frisoni, Catherine Deneuve, france, Inès de la Fressange, paris, Roger Vivier, the paris traveler, travel, travel blogs
2 opinions for Roger Vivier
karina
Jun 4, 2008 at 4:44 am
These items are luxurious, I want to have them.
Kim
Jun 4, 2008 at 9:06 am
The are so classic!
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