Entitled With and Without Heels: 150 Years of Women’s Footwear History, the exhibition marks the first of its kind in Poland dedicated predominantly to women’s shoes, within the context of culture and art history.
Curated by Beata Kuman and private collector Hanna Szudzińska, the show traces a century of fashion and craftsmanship.
The shoes, sourced predominantly from France and Britain, along with pieces from the United States, Tunisia and Morocco, reflect the intricate development of footwear styles and manufacturing techniques.
Highlights of the exhibition include leather boots and silk satin footwear embellished with silver and gold thread, beads, sequins, as well as examples of various fastenings from buttons to straps.
The collection showcases the evolution of shoe-making and comments on the cultural narratives and societal shifts embedded within the designs.
Szudzińska revealed that the inspiration for the exhibition's arrangement came from Pedro Almodóvar's 1991 melodrama High Heels, emphasizing an emotional space that invites viewers to craft their personal narratives about the significance of shoes.
The display challenges visitors to contemplate the shoe's extensive symbolic importance, from marital symbols to icons of desire as demonstrated, for example, in the TV series Sex and the City.
The show, which will remain open to the public until the end of the year. also features a number of related accessories, such as 19th-century stockings, shoeboxes, silver shoe horns and buckles.
The exhibition, unique in its focus on one specific aspect of women's attire, broadens the discourse on evolving societal roles.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP
