iBata Shoe MuseumThe Annex / University of Toronto
André Perugia: A Design Legend Unveiled
Over 95 designs by André Perugia (1893-1977), pioneer of the stiletto heel, made for Dior, Schiaparelli, Josephine Baker and other clients.
More in Toronto
In 1951 André Perugia made a sandal with steel shanks and thin steel heels, which the museum says look "like diamond needles". That Blade Heel is the step before the stiletto, and it's here. Toronto's sidewalk grates have been catching its descendants ever since.
This is the first exhibition ever devoted to Perugia, who made shoes for Dior, Schiaparelli and Josephine Baker from the 1920s to the 1960s. More than 70 of the 95-plus pieces are lent by the shoe museum in Romans-sur-Isère, France. Half the show was swapped mid-run, and 22 new artifacts are now on view. You walk from rhinestone evening shoes of the early 1920s to a 1950s sandal with no heel at all, where the instep strap wraps under the sole to do the job.
It suits anyone who cares how a shoe is built as much as how it looks; the curator calls his approach "architectural". It's covered by general admission, $16 for adults, and free for everyone on Sundays from noon.
Editor's pick
In 1951 André Perugia put thin steel heels on a sandal, one step short of the stiletto. Toronto's sidewalk grates have caught its descendants since. The first show devoted to him gathers 95-plus designs for Dior, Schiaparelli and Josephine Baker.
Look for
The Blade Heel sandals (1951)
Look for the steel shanks and thin steel heels, slim enough that the museum compares them to diamond needles.
The Mask Shoe
Bronzed lizard skin cut to the outline of a Venetian mask, on gilded heels: first released in 1923 and one of his most copied designs.
The articulated sole
A 1920s shoe whose sole is several pieces of wood on a flexible innersole, joined by small metal hinges so it bends as you walk.
The red mule
A 1950s mule that still shows the outline of its wearer's toes pressed into it.
The gold boot for Schiaparelli
A late-1930s boot with button closures borrowed from 19th-century women's footwear and a scalloped, art deco top edge.
Good for
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Nerding Out
With kids
Children 5 to 17 pay $5 and under-4s are free; a family pass for two adults and up to four children is $39.
Also at Bata Shoe Museum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
9
- André Perugia: A Design Legend UnveiledCourtesy of Bata Shoe Museum
- Psychedelics: Art. Culture. Science.Courtesy of Royal Ontario Museum
- Crawford Lake: Layers in Time© Craig Smith, 2023
- Critical Minerals: Critical Choices©ROM
- Bata Shoe MuseumCanmenwalker / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Royal Ontario MuseumMaksim Sokolov (Maxergon), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Art Museum at the University of TorontoUnderline Studio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gardiner Museumremundo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Casa LomaPriscilla Jordão / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0