Roger Vivier

Elizabeth Semmelhack is director and senior curator at Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. Semmelhack applies her cultural art history background to the mission of the museum by exploring the multiple roles and meanings of footwear through innovative and engaging exhibitions and publications.

"Born in 1907, Roger Vivier was known and loved for the daring and lavish shoes he designed over the course of a seven-decade career. He created iconic silhouettes such as the pilgrim shoes worn by Catherine Deneuve in 1967 for Luis Buñuel’s film Belle de Jour, the virgule heel and the rectangular chrome buckle. Roger Vivier closed his business before he passed away in 1998, but the brand’s acquisition by Diego della Valle, the owner of Tod’s, kickstarted a revival in 2003 that has taken Roger Vivier from being a Parisian heritage shoemaker to a luxury shoe and accessory label with international reach. With Gherardo Felloni named creative director of the maison in March 2018, Roger Vivier continues its tradition of visionary design and exceptional style. Felloni studied the vast archives, taking in the codes of the fashion house while at the same time creating something totally new and contemporary, not just through the shoes and accessories he designs, but also through theatrical event concepts. This book is be the new reference book for the Roger Vivier brand which counts Hollywood stars like Laura Dern and Sarah Paulson as devotees." — DUJOUR/DUJOUR.COM