Roger Henri Vivier (13 November 1907 – 2 October 1998) was a French
fashion design
Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
er who specialized in shoes. His best-known creation was the
stiletto heel
A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger.
Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform s ...
.
Career
![Roger Vivier store at China World Mall (20211222154948)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Roger_Vivier_store_at_China_World_Mall_%2820211222154948%29.jpg)
Vivier has been called the "
Fragonard of the shoe" and his shoes "the
Fabergé of Footwear"
by numbers of critics. He designed extravagant, richly decorated shoes that he described as sculptures. He is credited with the design of the first platform shoe in 1937 and the first
stiletto heel
A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger.
Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform s ...
in 1954.
Stiletto heels, the very thin high heel, were certainly discovered around in the late 19th century, as numerous fetish drawings attest, but Vivier is known for reviving and developing this opulent style by using a thin rod of steel.
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
,
Gloria Guinness and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
were all Vivier customers, and he designed shoes for
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
for her coronation in 1953.
Vivier designed shoes for house
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
from 1953 to 1963. In addition to the stiletto heel, he also experimented with other shapes, including the comma. He used silk, pearls, beads, lace,
appliqué
Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...
and jewels to create unique decorations for his shoes.
In the 1960s, Vivier also designed silk-
satin
A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...
knee
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
s outlined in jewels, and thigh-high evening boots in a black elastic knit with beads. Perhaps his best known boot design of the decade were the low-heeled, thigh-high, black crocodile boots he produced for
Yves Saint Laurent's fall 1963 collection, paired with a
Space Age
The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the Sputnik_1#Launch_and_mission, launch of Sputnik 1 ...
-looking, all-black Saint Laurent ensemble of tights, suede jerkin, short ciré jacket, and helmet-like visored cap and hood, the boots a variation of a pair Vivier had designed for a
Rudolph Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
performance of ''
Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
''. His possibly most iconic shoe design of the decade, the low-heeled Pilgrim pumps with silver buckles produced for
Yves Saint Laurent's 1965
Mondrian collection (worn by
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
in the film ''
Belle de Jour'') received international publicity and many imitations.
Vivier has a boutique on the
Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré, whose design is inspired by Vivier's apartment. The collection is designed by Bruno Frisoni. Exclusivity is the hallmark of the line, with many shoes made to order, some with hand-embroidered gold thread. There are now three shops in the USA. The latest opened in May 2012. Vivier's shoes are on display at the Costume Institute of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York, the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London, the
Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto and the
Musée de la mode et du textile
The Musée de la mode et du textile (Museum of Fashion and Textiles) was a museum located in the Louvre at, 107, rue de Rivoli, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is now a department of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Works fr ...
at the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
.
The brand has been owned by
Diego Della Valle
Diego Della Valle (born 30 December 1953) is the chairman of the Italian leather goods company '' Tod's''.
Biography Family, youth and studies
Diego Della Valle is the elder son of Dorino Della Valle and grandson of Filippo Della Valle. Fili ...
's company,
Tod's
Tod's S.p.A., also known as Tod's Group, is an Italian company which produces luxury shoes and other leather goods. The company is majority controlled by the founding family Della Valle Family and is listed on the Italy's Milan Stock Exchange be ...
, from 2006. As of November 2015, Tod's owns 60.7% in the shoe brand.
See also
*
Ayush D. Khurana
References
External links
*
*
Official website*
*
*
Exhibition (2014) in GermanyKenneth Jay Lane collection of Roger Vivier designs, 1956–1961from The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library at the Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivier, Roger
French fashion designers
Shoe designers
1907 births
1998 deaths
French brands
LGBT fashion designers
20th-century LGBT people