Everyone on the planet—with few exceptions—wears something on their feet to protect them from the earth. Yet the humble shoe also can be an object of desire, display, and deliberation, transcending its utilitarian purpose. Shoes can be sculptural, serve as historic artifacts, or call up abstract considerations—such as the freighted meanings of femininity, power, domination, and aspiration—for both women and men alike.
Renowned shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and businesswoman and philanthropist Jane Gershon Weitzman have assembled a stunning collection of footwear—from historical examples of workaday shoes to Stuart Weitzman's own creations to the many "fantasy shoes" that Jane Gershon Weitzman commissioned from artists to display in her husband's store windows. This extraordinary donation finds a home in our soaring new Weitzman Shoe Museum.
Taken together, these objects encompass not only a history of fashion but also a history of consumption, celebrity, and the ebb and flow of American industry. Curated by Jeanne Gutierrez, Manager of Scholarly Initiatives and Academic Affairs, and Keren Ben-Horin, Associate Curator of Public History.