Roger Vivier French shoe designer Date of Birth: 13.11.1913 Country: France

1. Biography of Roger Vivier
2. Early Life and Career
3. The Master of Extravagant Footwear
4. A Clientele of Stars and Royalty
5. Legacy and Recognition

Biography of Roger Vivier

Roger Vivier was a French shoe designer who became famous for inventing the stiletto heel, a high and thin heel that has remained a symbol of feminine grace and sensuality for many decades. He collaborated with many couturiers, but his partnership with Christian Dior stands out, especially during the time when Dior's New Look brought special attention to women's feet. Vivier created a series of innovative heel designs for Dior, including the stiletto and a highly unusual comma-shaped heel.

Early Life and Career

Roger Vivier was born on November 13, 1913, in Paris. He studied sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1924 and later became an apprentice in a shoe factory. In the early 1930s, he started working for fashion house Elsa Schiaparelli, creating custom-made shoes. After the success of his first models, Vivier opened his first boutique in Paris in 1937. However, two years later, the war and occupation forced the young designer to emigrate to the United States. He returned to Paris only in 1947 and met Christian Dior.

The Master of Extravagant Footwear

Vivier was called the "Fragonard of shoes" for his vivacious and coquettish footwear designs. His shoes were even referred to as "Fabergé shoes" due to their whimsical and rich embellishments. Vivier treated his creations as extravagant sculptures and spared no imagination in adorning them, although he also designed extremely simple and elegant monochromatic shoes in various materials. It is believed that Vivier created the first stiletto heel, or as it is also known, the "spike" heel in 1954. While the stiletto heel already existed in the history of footwear fashion, with numerous drawings of shoes on similar heels dating back to the late 19th century, it was Vivier who breathed new life into it and contributed to the revival of this luxurious heel, transforming the female foot, making it higher and thinner with the help of a thin steel rod. Over the past five decades, the stiletto has conquered the world and women's hearts, becoming an essential attribute of beauty.

A Clientele of Stars and Royalty

Roger Vivier's regular clients included Hollywood stars Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as socialite and style icon Gloria Guinness. He also worked on shoe collections for the members of the band "The Beatles." Additionally, Vivier created shoes for Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation in 1953. From 1953 to 1963, Vivier designed shoes for the fashion house Christian Dior. Besides the stiletto, he also created other unusual heel shapes, experimenting extensively. He used silk, pearls, beads, lace, appliques, and even precious stones for shoe embellishments, making each design unique. In the 1960s, Vivier developed knee-high silk and satin boots embroidered with gemstones, as well as thigh-high leather boots that Brigitte Bardot dazzled in. One of Vivier's most iconic designs, the pilgrim shoes with large square silver buckles, worn by Catherine Deneuve in the scandalous film "Belle De Jour," received instant international acclaim and spawned numerous imitations.

Legacy and Recognition

Shoes by Roger Vivier are exhibited in the most prestigious museums worldwide, including the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Musée du Costume et de la Mode in the Louvre in Paris. After nearly seventy years of creativity, Roger Vivier retired on October 2, 1978. He lived for another 20 years and passed away in October 1998 in Toulouse, France.