Shoes: Pleasure and Pain
Out of Stock
- Details
- Delivery
- Returns
As beautiful, sculptural objects, shoes are powerful indicators of gender, status, identity, taste, and even sexual preference. Our choice in shoes can be aspirational, even fantastical – and projects an image not just of who we are, but who we want to be. Feet are made for walking, but shoes may not be. Featuring extensive new photography, this is a beautiful and authoritative guide to the history and culture of footwear.
Iconic creations by celebrated designers sit alongside masterpieces by unknown craftsmen in this book. Embracing both men’s and women’s footwear, from the Chinese lotus shoe to laser-printed contemporary shoes-as-sculpture, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain engages with the cultural significance of shoes – the source of their allure, how they are made, and the people who buy and wear them.
Contributors from a wide range of disciplines consider subjects as diverse as ballet slippers and fetishism, shoes and ceramics, traditional shoemaking, and the obsessive shoe collector. The book also includes a comprehensive discussion of the history of shoe design, and case studies including Marie-Antoinette’s shoe collection and the footwear of the Maharajas.
Accompanies the V&A exhibition Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, 13 June 2015 to 31 January 2016.
Author/Artist/Designer
Helen PerssonPages
176
Dimensions
24.8 x 27.9cm
ISBN
9781851778324
Colour
Product code
129182
Book Format
Hardback
Please note – shop items are currently for GB shipping only, while our delivery partners perform a system update. We are working with them to reopen options as soon as possible.
Our standard delivery charges and estimated timescales are as follows. Selected product exceptions apply; please check the details given. International deliveries may also be subject to customs fees, tariffs or taxes upon arrival, which are your responsibility. See our Delivery and Returns page for more detail.
We hope you are happy with your V&A Shop purchase. However if you are not, please contact us. Most items are eligible for a full refund when returnable in an unused, unopened condition, and with original packaging – with the following exceptions. This does not affect your statutory rights. See our Delivery and Returns page for more detail.
The following items are excluded from our returns policy and cannot be refunded unless faulty, damaged, or not as described:
- Custom prints and other items made to your specification or personalised;
- Items that have been sealed for hygiene reasons, where the seal has been broken, such as beauty products, soap, pierced earrings, hosiery, socks, sunglasses and face coverings;
- Perishable or edible items such as flowers or food;
- Memberships, tickets for exhibitions, bookings for events and courses.
Helen Persson
Helen Persson is Curator of Chinese Textiles and Dress in the V&A’s Asia Department.