Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. Oh my god, shoes!
“Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe,” an exhibition kicking off Sept. 10 at the Brooklyn Museum, will showcase stellar shoes with centuries of cachet — from 16th-century platforms to modern designer pieces. The well-heeled collection demonstrates that high-heels have been on point for centuries, according to the show’s curator.
“It is kind of like what goes around comes around,” said Lisa Small, who was also the coordinating curator for “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier” at the museum last year.
Fanciful footwear in the exhibit includes Prada wedge sandals decorated with flames, a pair of Nicholas Kirkwood pumps covered in Swarovski crystals, and some bright red, full-leg calfskin high-heeled boots by Christian Louboutin. Many of the pieces are wearable, but artistic intent and aesthetics are more important than functionality in this exhibit, Small said.
For example, one pair of shoes on display is an artistic endeavor inspired by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, designed so that seeds sprinkle out of the bottom as the wearer walks. The idea is that every step leaves life where radiation was, and every footprint helps sow the seeds of the next generation, explained Small.
“It really takes the idea of what a high heel is — and what it can do,” she said.
The range of kick-ass kicks on display should satisfy the soles of history buffs, art lovers, and shoe connoisseurs alike, said Small.
“There is something for everyone,” she said.
“Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe” at the Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Parkway, between Washington and Flatbush avenues in Prospect Heights, (718) 638-5000, www.brooklynmuseum.org]. Sept. 10–Feb. 15. $12 ($8 members and students, free for children under 12).
