Once Upon A Time

Haute craftsmanship + hype design + a nod to history = Dior’s next hot shoe.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

A 1957 photo of the Comma-heeled pumps Roger Vivier created for Dior 

Monsieur Dior found his “sole mate” in fellow French legend Roger Vivier, and so began a decade-long partnership that can be considered one of the earliest examples of hype footwear collaborations. The latter – known for his wildly playful yet comfortable designs – was behind all of Dior’s shoes from 1953 to 1963, with every style reportedly wait-list-hot. Now, Maria Grazia Chiuri pays tribute to him by putting his signature 

My Reading Room
The Pre-fall 2019 throwback by way of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s popular J’Adior pumps

Comma heel – low and sculpted in the form of the punctuation mark – onto another, more recent bestseller: the logo-trimmed J’Adior pumps. While the 6.5cm-high heels are swathed in lambskin, the uppers are crafted from a seamless piece of ribbed technical canvas with the embroidered “J’Adior” grosgrain ribbon trim calling for 230,000 stitches alone. Haute + hype + history = prepare for the past to repeat itself. 


Text & Coordination Imran Jalal Photography Tan Wei Te Model Kalli A/Mannequin Vintage Photo Willy Maywald © Association Willy Maywald/ADAGP. Paris 2018 

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