Roger Vivier
Feb 28, 2014 | by Becky Oeltjenbruns
Image by Sheila Thomson
As we’ve seen in our Salvatore Ferragamo article, shoe designs greatly influence larger fashion movements. Vivier is another master of style. Known as a critical trendsetter, his work focused on capturing and elevating his clients’ feminine mystique. Many celebrities and nobles were loyal customers, yet he is most known for his ready-to-wear designs created for fashion houses. Join us in discovering more about this amazing talent.
Roger Vivier
Born in 1907, Parisian Roger Vivier was always creatively minded. What began as an interest in architecture and sculpture (he formally studied at the Paris École des Beaux Arts in the mid-1920s) transitioned into a love of shoe design. By 1927 he began working in shoe factories and developing his craft. A mere decade later he opened his first atelier in Paris and created a now iconic cork platform shoe for Elsa Schiaparelli. Drawing influence from the unique Venetian chopines, he showed his mastery for re-imagining historic influences.
Venetian Chopines
With WWII on his door step, Vivier moved to New York City and started a long, on again/off again partnership with Delman Shoes. By 1941 he took his talents beyond footwear and studied photography and hats – all as a response to the leather rationing during the war. Four years later he returned to shoes and pioneered the use of see through plastic in shoe design. His love for unusual materials and dynamic profiles caught the eye of a famous fashion designer and a chance encounter in 1947 catapulted Vivier’s career to new heights.
Roger Vivier and Dior
After the war Vivier booked passage on a boat; excited to return to Paris and revive his French connections, he struck up conversation with designer Christian Dior. Vivier’s eye for detail and exquisite tailoring inspired Dior. Their partnership proved to be influential and beneficial for them both. Vivier’s shoe designs took Dior’s “New Look” campaign to towering heights (literally with his 1954 stiletto, which stood at about 3″ in height).
We wish we could see those shoes!
Women in France were enthralled with the clothes and the shoes, but women in Britain began drooling over Vivier’s style a whole year earlier. His coronation shoe for Elizabeth II was a prime example of his love for the extravagant (he often incorporated feathers, metallic-finished leathers, faux furs, stretch fabric, etc). Decorated with 3,000 small garnets, they helped Elizabeth confidently ascend to the throne and we’d like to wager they made her smile! Other devoted followers included Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, and Vogue’s Diana Vreeland.
By 1955 his name was side by side Dior’s and this marked a historic moment. Never before had a shoe designer been listed on the fashion house’s label. This act spoke to the importance of his influence and the deep respect Dior had for Vivier. When Dior passed away in 1957, the partnership between the fashion house and Vivier continued under Yves Saint Laurent. As the ultra-feminine 1950s gave way to the modern, space age 1960s, Vivier evolved with his clientele.
Roger Vivier
The late 1950s and 1960s were an especially prolific time for him. First came the square point toe in 1958, followed by the choc heel which had an inward curving heel. The thigh high crocodile boots Vivier created for Yves Saint Laurent were inspired and immortalized on film by Brigitte Bardot. On the heels (love that word play!) of these designs, came the comma heel, the black patent and panther shoe, and the pilgrim buckle pump.
The buckle pump remains an iconic symbol of the Vivier brand and caused quite a riot when it debuted. Worn by Catherine Deneuve in the film Belle de Jour, women all over France found themselves desiring a pair. In the first year alone over 200,000 were sold. The popularity of his work and greatness of his design earned him the 1961 Neiman Marcus Fashion Award. Roger Vivier passed away at age 90 in 1998, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire today’s fashion and trends.
Cause A Frockus would like to thank their tremendous influences: Wikipedia, Roger Vivier’s website, Voguepedia, the Huffington Post, “Shoes A-Z: Designers, Brands, Manufacturers, Retailers” by Jonathan Walford, the Met Museum, and the people who post their images without restriction.
For our readers: do you love Roger Vivier’s work? What’s your favorite design? Do you think the New Look would have been as groundbreaking without Vivier’s contributions?