André Perugia shoes

Here’s your delicious A-list of André Perugia shoes. André Perugia (1893-1977) was a French shoe designer. He was Nice, France in 1893 of Italian parentage, grew up in a family of shoe makers.

At the age of 16, André Perugia trained in his father’s workshop as a shoe maker. Rapidly honing in on his craft, he became much more knowledgable than his teacher, his father, and subsequently took over the family business.

The high society Parisian’s quickly became enamored with André Perugia’s ingenuity and many solicited him to create their own extraordinary shoes. Shortly thereafter, he began creating historic footwear for the rich and famous.

André Perugia shoes

Before Nicholas Kirkwood, before Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik, André Perugia was the man to go to for show-stopping shoes.

• André Perugia biography. In 1909, André Perugia opened a shop in Paris where he sold handmade shoes and was planning to concentrate on design and creativity. He later moved to Rue Faubourg St. Honore, where all the fashion designers had their salons. After World War I, he had to work in an aircraft factory during the war, and the engineering knowledge he gathered there turned his vision for shoes and shoe design upside down. It inspired some of his most memorable and experimental designs, such as a series of shoes with aerodynamic heels in steel alloy, as well as the heelless shoe. André Perugia made shoes for fashion designer Paul Poiret, and it was through his association with the world-famous couturier that his success was assured.
• Glamour of the stage. André Perugia earned a reputation as an eccentric as well as a genius. Among his clients in the 1920s were stars of the Folies Bergere and movie actresses who wanted André Perugia shoes that epitomized the glamour of the stage, Josephine Baker, movie siren Gloria Swanson, silent movie star Pola Negri and Mistinguette, queen of the French vaudeville, whose legendary legs were inspiring artists fantasy and creativity. He made shoes in homage to several distinguished artists. His fish pump of 1931, made of overlaid kid with decorative “scales” is a tribute to George Braque, the French cubist artist. In 1950, he made a “homage to Picasso” sandal which seems to be floating in the air. He also made some witty shoes for Elsa Schiaparelli.
• From Eve to Rita Hayworth. Known for his experimental designs, André Perugia used new, and often exotic, materials for his masterpieces and was in constant pursuit of new, unseen-before shapes and forms. He wrote a book “From Eve to Rita Hayworth” in which he said that the way to unveil a woman’s personality was to study her feet. He wanted the shoe to be comfortable as well as beautiful, saying “A pair of shoes must be perfect like an equation and adjusted to the millimeter like a motor piece.” What makes André Perugia a true pioneer when it comes to shoe design is the fact that he saw and really understood that there is an intricate connection between the shoe, the heel and the body weight. He retired in 1970 and died in 1977, aged 84.

Where Can I Buy André Perugia shoes

Humor and originality were distinguishing his models. Always eager to experiment with new materials, shapes and textures, André Perugia continued to create shoes of startling originality throughout a 50 year association with I. Miller and then with Charles Jourdan. Also, he worked Jacques Fath and Hubert de Givenchy.

Indisputably one of the most influential shoe designers of 1920s, André Perugia and Salvatore Ferragamo were not the only shoe designers of the 1920s. There were others whose names have disappeared over time or have been forgotten; this however does not make them less important. Most of them were based in Paris, which was a shopping heaven at the time. These exclusive designers, known as “The Bottiers of Paris,” designed exquisite shoes made out of the most deluxe materials. They used brocade, lace, painted silk, rhinestones and removable buckles and clasps. Amongst these designers were A Gillet, Sarkis del Balian and Julienne. Anyway, thanks to André Perugia for many shoe trends, the platform, the corkscrew bottom shoe and countless Stilettos.

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André Perugia shoes