Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
If you are trekking
through the South East of France this Spring, and would like to see some monumental
shoes, then stop by Romans-sur-Isère, home to France’s
International Shoe Museum. Currently closed, and undergoing renovation, to repair
weather-related damage to the historic Visitacion Convent that houses the shoe
collections, the Museum has moved outdoors, creating an 8 giant-shoe business tour of
the city of Romans.
The 8 giant-shoe stops on the tour include replicas of the
following famous shoes:
1. Chaussure sans talon (1937) - André Perugia
2. Derby Tressé (1990) - Stéphane Kéliane
3. Escarpin à talon aiguille (1963) - Charles Jourdan
4. Escarpin giraffe (1995) - Stéphane Couvé-Bonnaire
5. Derby Roel (2016) - Robert Clergerie
6. Chaussure Poisson (1955) – André Perugia
7. Escarpin Choc-Choc (2004) - Bruno Frisoni pour Roger Vivier
8. Escarpin étoilé (1994) - Andrea Pfister
The monumental shoes enhance and increase the visibility of a Museum collection that encompasses both the old, and the new, in footwear fashion. The Museum collection includes a 3000-year-old Egyptian sandal made of papyrus fiber, together with some of André Perugia's most extravagant models, and Christian Louboutin’s red-soled pumps. The 8 monumental shoes of the city tour are also strategically positioned, close to renowned shoe shops and shoemaker’s workshops that have traditionally sustained the economic activity of the city of Romans-sur-Isère.
1. Chaussure sans talon (1937) - André Perugia
2. Derby Tressé (1990) - Stéphane Kéliane
3. Escarpin à talon aiguille (1963) - Charles Jourdan
4. Escarpin giraffe (1995) - Stéphane Couvé-Bonnaire
5. Derby Roel (2016) - Robert Clergerie
6. Chaussure Poisson (1955) – André Perugia
7. Escarpin Choc-Choc (2004) - Bruno Frisoni pour Roger Vivier
8. Escarpin étoilé (1994) - Andrea Pfister
The monumental shoes enhance and increase the visibility of a Museum collection that encompasses both the old, and the new, in footwear fashion. The Museum collection includes a 3000-year-old Egyptian sandal made of papyrus fiber, together with some of André Perugia's most extravagant models, and Christian Louboutin’s red-soled pumps. The 8 monumental shoes of the city tour are also strategically positioned, close to renowned shoe shops and shoemaker’s workshops that have traditionally sustained the economic activity of the city of Romans-sur-Isère.
The 8 giant shoes on show for the city tour were unveiled on November 30th, 2019. The shoes are not only replicas of some of the finest pieces found within the Museum, specialized sculptors (MG Composites, Arsculpt and Atelier FX Déco) were commissioned to reproduce the shoes in monumental sizes. Indeed, each of the famous shoes, also mounted on locally commissioned concrete pedestals, fabricated by Chapsol, measures on average, at least, 6 ft (L) x 6 ft (H) x 3 ft (W).
The video (in French), included below, provides a glimpse of the fabrication process of the monumental sculptures. Beginning with a 3-D numerical scan of the museum pieces, the 3-D (volumetric) images of the pieces enabled the creation of a mold. The shoes were then fabricated out of polyester and several layers of fiberglass in a cast made of polyurethane foam. Once unmolded, both halves of the shoe undergo various finishing processes. The final painting process for the monumental shoes is similar to the process used for painting cars.
References
ART SCulpt
http://www.arsculpt.fr/
Atelier FX Déco
https://www.fxdeco.com/
Chapsol
https://www.chapsol.fr/
La Joconde – Portail des collections des musées de France
http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/joconde/fr/
MG Composites
http://www.mgcomposites.com/
Musée de la Chaussure
https://www.museedelachaussure.fr/infos-pratiques
Musée de la chaussure 8 chaussures géantes en ville
