Model No. 487

Steven Arpad|House of Balenciaga

1938–39 · silk, wood · Costume Institute

Published in Vogue in October 1939 as a design for Balenciaga, this pair of extraordinary shoes is actually the work of designer Steven Arpad, and appears in the Arpad archive at the Brooklyn Museum as Model No. 487. Like many designers, most of Arpad's work seems to have been done anonymously and released under the name of an established fashion house, so the Museum's archive and collection of shoe prototypes by Arpad provide the sole documentation of this portion of the designer's oeuvre. In this fantastical interpretation of footwear, Arpad presents an intensely inventive and unique rendition of the platform sole, an important feature at the time. Although the source of inspiration is not known, the arched supports strongly recall building or aqueduct forms, underlining the parallel numerous clothing designers have made between fashion and architecture.

Artist

Steven Arpad|House of Balenciaga

Date

1938–39

Medium

silk, wood

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, 1947