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This object comes from a group of over seventy-five shoe prototypes designed in Paris in 1939 by Steven Arpad. Aside from the lines of leather accessories and jewelry he produced under his own name in the 1940s, Arpad seems to have worked mostly anonymously. The prototypes are accompanied by an extensive archive of original sketches which has made it possible to identify uncredited shoe designs for Balenciaga and Delman as Arpad's work. Containing some of the most creative, unique, and unusual examples of footwear design in the collection, the museum's holdings appear to be the only documented body of the work of this extraordinary designer. The sublimely simple and sophisticated design of this ankle boot features an upper lined and folded over at the top to create its own casing for the ankle tie. The leather has been cut back at the throat to highlight the suede lining in a slightly lighter shade. The low boot cut and simple feeling recall medieval footwear.

Details

  • Title: Shoe prototype
  • Creator: Steven Arpad
  • Date Created: 1939
  • Type: shoe
  • External Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Collection Online
  • Medium: leather, wood
  • Culture: French
  • Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arpad, 1947
  • Creator Death Date: 1999
  • Creator Birth Date: 1904
  • Accession Number: 2009.300.3477

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