(click to see a bigger picture)
-
- Roger Vivier was born in 1907 and passed away in 1998. He started his life as a great fashion master in Beaux Arts of Paris as a student and then became an apprenticeship of a shoemaker. Because of his obsession with theater and music hall, he used to design theater decorations and costume-made shoes for Josephine Baker and Mistinguette (famous French actresses and singers). His first boutique was opened in Paris on the rue Royale in 1937. His eponymous fashion company was founded in 2002.
-
- In 1953, Roger Vivier designed a pair of shoes for Queen Elizabeth II and the shoes were later worn on the Queen’s coronation. Besides the Queen, the beautiful and elegant style of Roger Vivier’s also got him a lot of loyal customers such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, the empress of Iran and the Duchess of Windsor.
-
- As the creator of stiletto heel, Roger Vivier was also famous for his creation of “comma” heel. The very famous comma heel was invented in 1950s when Vivier opened his first boutique. According to the statement on the official site of Roger Vivier, the comma heel represents an “exclamation mark,” and expresses the concept of “vibrant, appealing, a fusion of daring and sophistication.”
-
- In 1953, Christian Dior invited Roger Vivier to design shoes for his new footware department. Their corporation created a mass-market line for the first time in history. He later also worked with a lot of top designers and haute couturier, and the most famous names of them are Yves Saint Laurent or Madame Grès. This collaboration lasted a long time until Vivier’s death in 1998.
-
- One of the iconic designs of Roger Vivier’s is the “Pilgrim Pumps” which is featured by the square heel and the sliver pilgrim-buckle on the very tip of the shoe. This design was first shown in Yves Saint Laurent’s “Mondrian” collection in 1965. Nevertheless, this style did not get very popular until the release of the movie called “Belle de Jour” in which the shoe was worn by the famous actress Catherine Deneuve. During the period of working with Yves Saint Laurent, Roger Vivier also created some other iconic design such as thigh-high boots and transparent-plastic shoes(1966).
-
- Bruno Frisoni was hired as the creative director when Tod’s Group bought the label Roger Vivier in 2002, and made it a fashion company that continues the beautiful spirit of Roger Vivier’s.
-
- The shoe in the picture is called Rose N’ Roll. The main material is purple satin. It belongs to the Fall collection of Roger Vivier’s in 2012.
-
- This shoe was designed and made after Roger Vivier passed away. Although it was not designed by this fashion master, it did extend Roger Vivier’s spirit and style. Roger Vivier was really obsessed with theater and music hall. He used to be a theater decor designer. The style of him is simple but gorgeous, which matches the style of this shoe. Rose is also an element that appears very often in theaters to express the feminine beauty, royalty, and romantic love. The sparkling dewdrop on roses also inspired the designer.
-
- The designer put the “rose” on the front part of the shoe. The soft and feminine beauty of the purple rose attracts everybody’s attention at the first sight with its gorgeous color and very smooth texture. One thing that is really interesting is the heel of the shoe. There is a “thorn of roses” on the heel. It brought more fun to this elegant design. It gave this purple rose a little bit wild magic.
-
- The designer of this shoe also played a game on the name. “Rose N’ Roll” can be referred to the original term “Rock N’ Roll”. “Rock N’ Roll” first appeared in the 1950s as a phrase which means the first wave of music that later developed into rock music. Now it can also be interpreted as the rock music and culture in common sense. In this case, the name “Rose N’ Roll” definitely revealed the elegant power and rocking fantasy of this design.
-
- The designer used satin as the main fabric in order to express the smooth and light texture of the rose. The color purple made this shoe more mysterious. Nevertheless, the sparkling dewdrop inspired diamond buckle added more shine and classy-look to this shoe.
-
- This shoe is designed for both daily and evening occasion. The name “Rose N’ Roll” does not only include the theme and the style of this design, but also the technique of how the rose was made. It perfectly expressed the beauty of women and the classic spirit of Roger Vivier’s design.
Really wonderful research! You gave a great of interesting detail and background on the designer and his influences. Very helpful in understanding the current design.
The only thing I would add is that the name “rose n’ roll” is clearly a play on “rock n’ roll”, and it takes some associations from that. The rose aside from being a symbol of love, beauty, courtship, glamor, has also gained a kind of grittier, rock n’ roll association, by use in tattoos, etc. You could show some images of that direction too, if you wanted to. But the work is already very complete.
Keep up the great work!
Hi, your post covers very detailed information that I want to know about this shoes, which is great. But beyond that, what do you think of this pair? What would you dress for pairing this shoes?
Thanks for your comment. I really love the elegant style of this shoe. I think I would wear it with classy daily outfit or night ball gown.
Love your pants and shoes. Great outfit! I need for my husband some new Flight Jackets styling ideas. Can you please share if possible ?? Thank you so much for all
Love your pants and shoes. Great outfit! I need for my husband some new Flight Jackets styling ideas. Can you please share if possible ?? Thank you so much for all
Shoe Embassy London