Friday evening saw me taking advantage of the V&A’s late opening and head to their Shoe: Pleasure and Pain exhibition.
Although I’ve had an interest in fashion for quite a while, I’ve never thought shoes had the same appeal. That for some reason they weren’t as detailed, descriptive of really differed from one another. I have been clearly proven wrong.
Shoes throughout time have altered with fashion, and as our tastes change we’ve gained shoes of every shape, colour and texture. Shoes with platforms, heels and straps. Shoes made for the tiny binded feet of Chinese woman. Shoes that showed status through their inability to allow you to walk. There’s such a history to our fashion choices, with reasons behind our choices of style that we mostly remain oblivious to.
The exhibition portrayed the story of the shoe, not just in its evolution and history, but the designing and manufacturing processes. We were given an insight to the designer’s world, explanation to why a heel shape is chosen or a range is created.
Following the organised and aesthetically pleasing style, the V&A is famous for, this exhibition, regardless of your knowledge of shoes, is a must.
Shoe: Pleasure and Pain is at the V&A until January 2016.
