Sandals

Albanese

ca. 1958 · leather, metal · Costume Institute

Italian shoe designers experimented with many variations of the slender stiletto heel of the later 1950s. As the height and thinness increased, an internal steel shank was introduced to prevent breakage, inspiring some inventive designers to dispose of the outer material all together and present models with spindly metal heels. This ingenious design shows and extreme reduction of the sandal form to its most essential elements. Italian heels of this period were often set well under the foot to provide stability; the architectural cant of this blade-like heel looks peculiar, but is a structural necessity.

Artist

Albanese

Date

ca. 1958

Medium

leather, metal

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 Margaret Jerrold Inc., 1965