Location: Mint Museum of Art

Museum Hours: Tuesday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. ; Wed - Sat 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. ; Closed Sunday & Monday

Information: General 704-337-2000

Dates: Sat, Apr 25, 2009 - Mon, May 30, 2011

Rankin Gallery

The Heights of Fashion highlights 60 examples of platform footwear from the 1930s - the present.

Fashionable platform shoes appeared in Europe and the United States in the 1930s and 1940s but the popularity of platforms in the 1970s reached far greater heights and lingered far longer. From the rebellious days of the 1970s through the style-conscious present day, platforms continue as fashion statements by both sexes. Unique and movable platforms created by top designers sometimes require caution, from the fashion runway to the streets.

Elevated shoes have appeared for centuries in cultures around the world. In Ancient Greece, actors wore thick-soled shoes to heighten their stature before their audience. In Europe, from about 1600-1750, some women in high society and the demimonde wore tall pedestal shoes called copines. Thick platform shoes were fashionable in the Manchu culture of Northeast China. Japan’s platform sandals became part of the traditional dress of geishas.

For more information, see the Mint Wiki for authoritative online resource links, artist audio and video files, and catalog links to print resources. The Mint Museum Library creates and maintains the Mint Wiki.




If you love shoes, stop by the Museum Shops after your visit to Heights of Fashion to flip through the shoe books. There are several books in the shops that give more examples of platform shoes and a history of shoes.

	Shoes the most popular book in the shop. 507 pages of color illustrations. Price: $13.95, available at MMA only
	Platform Shoe Book Price $19.95, available at MMA only.

 

For additional information, please contact:

Charles Mo – email , phone: 704-337-2001