Shoe prototype

This object comes from a group of over seventy-five shoe prototypes designed in Paris in 1939 by Steven Arpad. Aside from the lines of leather accessories and jewelry he produced under his own name in the 1940s, Arpad seems to have worked mostly anonymously. The prototypes are accompanied by an extensive archive of original sketches which has made it possible to identify uncredited shoe designs for Balenciaga and Delman as Arpad's work. Containing some of the most creative, unique, and unusual examples of footwear design in the collection, the museum's holdings appear to be the only documented body of the work of this extraordinary designer.
Collaborations of fashion designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli with fine artists encouraged the blurring of art and fashion in the late 1930s. A frankly sculptural heel with continuous quarters on this model terminates in a pair of hooks to secure the wrapped ankle straps. This design is in perfect harmony with the contemporary wrapped and draped evening gowns inspired by classical sculpture.