This fall, the Brooklyn Museum will explore the ornate history and cultural context surrounding high-heeled shoes in the exhibition, Killer Heels: The Art of the High Heeled Shoe. From September 10 through February 15, Killer Heels examines the mystique and transformative power of the elevated shoe and its various connections to fantasy, power, and identity. With more than 160 artfully fashioned historical and contemporary high heels on display, the exhibit addresses the dynamic shifts in the shoe’s style and symbolism.

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Encompassing early forms of high heels, architecturally inspiring wedges, razor-sharp stilettos, and idiosyncratic conceptions, Killer Heels will be organized into six thematic sections including Revival and Reinterpretation, Rising in the East, Glamour and Fetish, Architecture, Metamorphosis, and Spacewalk. Held in the 1st Floor’s Robert E. Blum Gallery, the exhibit spans from seventeenth century constructions to present-day collections, representing such designers and design houses as Manolo Blahnik, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Zaha Hadid X United Nude, Iris van Herpen X United Nude, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, André Perugia, Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Noritaka Tatehana, Vivienne Westwood, and Pietro Yantorny. The display also features six short films inspired by high heels that were specifically commissioned for the exhibition from artists Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh, Zach Gold, Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Marilyn Minter, and Rashaad Newsome to further illustrate the high heel’s enduring place in popular imagination.

For more information visit the website: http://brooklynmuseum.org/

Featured image Marilyn Minter. Still from Smash, 2014. Video, color, sound. Darren Lew, director of photography. Todd Stewart/Picturefarm, editor. Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94