Shoes

Pierre Yantorny

1925–30 · leather · Costume Institute

Pietro Yantorny (1874-1936), the self-proclaimed "most expensive shoemaker in the world", was a consummate craftsman utterly devoted to the art of shoemaking. Yantorny sought to create the most perfectly crafted shoes possible for a select and exclusive clientele of the most perfectly dressed people. Lace-up shoes with strappy cutouts are a classic 1920s day style, and this example is finely detailed with wave-cut seams and hand-stitched bar tacks for the closure. This looped lacing system, invented by Yantorny in 1916 and granted a US patent in 1920, was intended to perfect the fit and comfort, to eliminate bulk in the construction, reduce wear on the laces and facilitate their replacement, and provide superior rain protection on a closed shoe.

Artist

Pierre Yantorny

Date

1925–30

Medium

leather

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Edward G. Sparrow, 1969