Vivier started his career in the shoe business during his studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, when he accepted a job in a shoe factory owned by a relative of his. Within a few years he had learned every trick of the trade. His studies in sculpting, which came in handy during the rest of his career, reflected on the the characteristic, sculptural style of most of his shoe designs. The designer focus on heels in a particular way, and he is commonly cited as the inventor of the stiletto heel.

The shoes made for actresses like Catherine Deneuve (Belle de Jour-buckle shoes, based on the Pilgrim Buckle shoe) and Brigitte Bardot (Harley-Davidson thigh-length boots also called cuissardes) made them and their image almost immortal.

The exhibition, entitled Shoe Treasures - Roger Vivier, is a tribute to the designer who created shoes for Dior for a decade, between 1953 and 1963. The worlds written on shoes “Christian Dior – Shoes Created by Roger Vivier”  are a “clearer proof of the great esteem in which Christian Dior held Roger Vivier”. Highlights of this exhibition include four pairs of court shoes especially made for Marlene Dietrich (courtesy of the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin).

The exhibition will also include material from the 1930s, when Roger Vivier caused a sensation in the North American shoe market as a designer for New York-based manufacturers Miller and Delman. All Vivier's creations in those years were commissioned by Laboremus, a subsidiary of the German Heyl'sche Lederwerke leather factory in Worms-Liebenau. At that time Laboremus’ headquarters were located on the Place Vendôme in Paris, just a few steps away from the famous Ritz Hotel.

Shoe Treasures - Roger Vivier will be open between the 21st of February and the 28th of June 2015.

Image Credits: Belle de Jour-buckle shoes; Roger Vivier