Evening shoes

As with another pair of shoes in the Brooklyn Museum by Steven Arpad (X1025.1a-b), the design of this fantastical Baroque heel references architectural design. Although unlabelled - a feature seemingly shared by all of Arpad's footwear - the design is documented by an archival sketch in the Museum's collection. The platform sole was an important design element in the late 1930s and 1940s, but was rarely as brazenly reinterpreted as in Arpad's design. Part of this extremity can certainly be attributed to the strong Surrealist influence in couture at the time. The fact that Arpad is known to have designed footwear for couture houses raises the possibility that this pair may have been designed for Elsa Schiaparelli, whose work was most noted for including Surrealist elements.