Red Ballet Shoes
(1948 - now)
As well as attributes of power, shoes can also be objects of fantasy. Historically, they have played an important role in folk and fairy tales: when Cinderella’s foot fits the glass slipper, for instance, she is elevated from housemaid to princess. A version of the Cinderella story – involving the ruler of Egypt, a Greek slave girl and a «slipper test» – can be traced back to the 1st Century BC. These red ballet pumps, made out of silk satin and leather, were produced for Moira Shearer when she starred in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 film The Red Shoes, which was loosely based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.