Shoe prototype

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. Arpad makes an especially effective and attractive use of color and curved shapes in this sandal design. Layering was a technique that the designer returned to repeatedly in his work. The closure is particularly refined, as the strap connecting the two sides runs underneath so as not to interrupt the emanating arcs.