Pumps

Dal Co'

1956 · leather · Costume Institute

The Osgood collection comprises 179 objects, chiefly fashionable Italian-made women's shoes dating from the years 1954 to 1958. The shoes were collected by Charline Osgood, Director of the Kid Leather Guild, a trade organization of American kid leather manufacturers. Highlighting the use of kid leather in footwear, the collection provides a fascinating and enticing view of high-style European shoe design from the period, representing many of the finest and most inventive Italian makers. In this characteristically idiosyncratic example, designer Alberto Dal Cò employs a visually appealing color contrast, and intriguing detail on the sole and toe, and a piped CB line emphasizing the height and shape of the heel. The innovative design extends to the construction, as the shoes feature a glove-like "floating upper" which wraps under foot and is stitched to the sled-like sole at the center of the foot.

Artist

Dal Co'

Date

1956

Medium

leather

Culture

Italian

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Charline Osgood, 1960