Roger Vivier @ Archive Shoes Exhibition

Roger Vivier held an archive shoes exhibition in Hong Kong recently showcasing 30 pieces of Roger Vivier’s classic work from the past century, to reminisce Roger Vivier’s timeless talent and charm. Archive pieces including women's pump in a check of RHODIER in 100% wool with a punch-toe, and the "Tibet"-heel that Christian Dior for Roger Vivier Paris in 1955. Women's evening pump "foot-goat"-heel, silver thread embroidery and tulle topaz mounted on a nylon mesh, style created for Princess Soraya. And women's "mask" sandal with high straps in golden kid leather, collection" "Mask" "created to Yves Saint Laurent, by Roger Vivier Paris custom-made in 1967.

Formed by the modernist 1920s, Mr. Roger Vivier was an exclusive shoe designer for Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent in the 1950s and 1960s but he also made himself accessible with a mass-market line, realised by Charles Jourdan. He had opened the first store under his own name on the Rue Royale in Paris in 1937. The Vivier buckle has been a symbol of understated style for the inde­pendent woman over the world since the 1960s when a new generation of women saw it on Catherine Deneuve’s bour­geois bad girl in Buñuel’s Belle du Jour.

In 2004, Bruno Frisoni, Creative Director of the Maison, took on the challenge of turning the famous name into a luxury brand for the 21^st century. Bruno Frisoni, whose sensitive but strong reinterpretation of Vivier’s spirit through this new bag, footwear and accessories line for Roger Vivier Paris is an eloquent response to the needs of the chic but cool woman of today.

In celebration of the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Bruno Frisoni was inspired by the original shoe designed by Mr. Roger Vivier for the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 to create these exquisite jewels for the feet. “A Queen Forever” diamond encrusted, hand-stitched shoes, realised using the finest artisanal skills, the iconic fleur-de-lys motif is encrusted with over 3500 brilliant cut diamonds set in jewels originated by The East India Company. Delicate and dramatic feather work completes this magnificent and truly distinctive piece.