Roger Vivier (1907–1998) was a
French fashion designer who specialized in
shoes. His best known creation was the
Stiletto heel.
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
stiletto heel in 1954.
. Stiletto heels, the very thin high heel, were certainly around in the late 1800s 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,
Gloria Guinness and
The Beatles were all Vivier customers, and he designed the shoes for
Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation in 1953.
Vivier designed shoes for
Christian Dior 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 and jewels to create unique decorations for his shoes.
In the 1960s Vivier also designed
silk-
satin knee
boots outlined in jewels, and thigh-high evening boots in a black elastic knit with beads. His most iconic design, the Pilgrim pumps with silver buckles (worn by Catherine Deneuve in the film
Belle de Jour) received international publicity and many imitations.
Vivier's shoes are on display at the Costume Institute of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York, the
Victoria and Albert Museum in
London and the
Musée du Costume et de la Mode at the
Louvre.