Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. A pair of evening shoes covered in pink tulle couched and embroidered overall in metal strip, and covered with shimmering rhinestones, pearl beaded bands and coloured crystal droplets, embroidered by Rébé, 1957-1959.
Estimate €2,000–2,500 / $2,300–2,850
The ideal Cinderella shoe - this pair of haute couture evening shoes is fashioned in delicate pink tulle and hand embroidered with shimmering rhinestones, pearl beaded bands and coloured crystal droplets, by the Parisian atelier Rébé.
Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. A pair of satin evening shoes with metal thread embroidered by Rébé, 1955-1957.
Estimate: €2,000–2,500 / $2,300–2,850
These elegant pumps are hand embroidered by Rebe in raffia beads and silk thread in a 3D floral design for which Vivier was famed. The Spring colours and motifs would have matched the motifs of a Dior haute couture gown.
Christian Dior, Par Roger Vivier. A pair of turkish-inspired turquoise silk evening shoes with curved toes, embroidered by Rébé, 1957.
Estimate: €2,000–2,500 / $2,300–2,850
Dior flirted with exoticism in many forms and these mint green evening shoes boast a Turkish toecap, black sequin and jade stone embroidery by Rebe. They were designed by Vivier in Dior’s last year. A pair in coral is part of the Costume Institute’s collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Roger Vivier Pour Givenchy. A pair of shoes of printed pink and white Sache silk with bows, 1963.
Estimate: €500–700 / $600–800
In brilliant abstract patterned pink silk with tiny bows, these classic pumps sing with Spring frivolity. Vivier designed the style in 1963 for a client of Hupert de Givenchy who wanted a shoe to match her couture dress.
Roger Vivier Pour Christian Dior. A pair of kingfisher feather and trompe-l’oeil printed shoes, 1957.
Estimate: €2,000–2,500 / $2,300–2,850
Feathers resonate with the magic of transformation and Roger Vivier became a master in the craft. These kingfisher feather stilettoes in brilliant hues feature a stylized swoop that dramatizes the line of the shoe.
Roger Vivier Pour Chrisian Dior. A pair of lace and satin evening shoes embroidered by Rébé, Circa 1955-1957.
Estimate: €1,000–1,200 / $1,150–1,400
Vivier was a constant innovator of heels shapes and this pair of embroidered primrose pink pumps features the ‘Aiguille’ heel, higher vamp and a tapered chiselled toe
Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. A pair of gilt leather shoes, 1959.
Estimate: €1,000–1 200 / $1,150–1,400.
Gold shoes are part of a woman’s shoe armoury and this timeless pair feature a tapered ‘bird’s beak’ toe and a whimsical knotted ball of leather ribbons on the toe.
Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. A pair of floral Staron silk shoes, 1955-1957.
Estimate: €1,000–1,200 / $1 ,150–1 ,400
Crafted in a painterly floral Staron silk print, these classical pumps with the Aiguille heel are elegantly embellished with a knot bow tipped with tiny rhinestones. They encapsulate the spirited femininity that became Christian Dior’s hallmark. His ambition was to make women happy and to dress them head to toe.
Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. Shoes embroidered with fringes of beads by Rébé, 1955 – 1957.
Estimate: €700–1,000 / $800–1,150
Vivier was a master of kinetic effects and these ivory coloured satin pumps are decorated with free moving strands of sequins by Rebe that are designed to literally ‘dance’ around the foot.
Christian Dior Par Roger Vivier. A pair of evening shoes of floral chiné Staron satin, 1955-1957.
Estimate: €1,000–1,200 / $1,150–1,400
Christian Dior worked with French silk maker, Staron to realize his exclusive prints and weaves. Here a vibrant pink green and black design features on a classic pump with an origami like bow decoration.
In the Parthenon of great shoe designers, Parisian Roger Vivier will always be remembered for his lightness of touch and architectural ingenuity. Vivier trained in sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and began to design shoes in the 1930s, later opening his first shoe atelier on the Rue Royale. His collaboration with the House of Christian Dior began in 1953 and the decade long relationship witnessed the most imaginative of designs, boasting innovations like the 1958 Etrave heel that took the shape of a tapered hourglass. Roger Vivier remains one of the most creative footwear brands and is complicit with women in honouring the flight of fancy that a beautiful pair of heels represents. Click ahead to see 10 sale highlights.
1921-2010 Les Petites Robes Noires Collection Didier Ludot
3 October | Paris