A Personal Collection of Vivienne Westwood Shoes

13 July 2018 – 28 April 2019

About the exhibition

Explore the passion that shoes can inspire through this prized private collection of Vivienne Westwood shoes, chosen for their beauty, innovation, and artistry.

This collection showcases Westwood’s Punk fashions in the 1970s and 1980s, with celebrated designs including the ‘Seditionaries’ boots favoured by The Sex Pistols; and iconic looks of late 20th century fashion such as the infamous ‘super-elevated’ heels of the 1990s: the same design that caused Naomi Campbell to take a tumble on a Paris catwalk.

A person stood on an escalator wearing a pair of 'bag boots'.

A person wearing electric blue tights and gold laced trainers, sat on a red bin.

A person wearing green and yellow 'snake skin' shoes

To complement the exhibition, follow the footsteps of fashion through the ages with a display of footwear dating back to the 18th century selected by Dame Vivienne Westwood from our historic collection.

The selection includes:

a pair of hand-made Georgian satin shoes that are nearly three hundred years old
Edwardian boots designed by François Pinet, one of the most coveted shoemakers of his day
a pair of Christian Dior court shoes designed by Roger Vivier, the creator of the stiletto heel

A pair of women's evening shoes with open sides and diamanté ankle strap fastening.

A pair of wedding slippers in ivory silk satin with 1 ½ inch 'knock-on' heels.

A pair of brown leather boots. The boots have a heel and buttons running up and down them.

A pair of heeled, metallic shoes. The shoes have a decorative ribbon on the front.

This long view of shoe design will show the rich history and tradition on which Westwood continues to draw.

Please note that this exhibition is located in the Upper Galleries which are currently inaccessible to wheelchair users. Further information on accessibility is available on our Access page.

Shaping the Body

Explore 400 years of fashion, food and life in our ongoing Shaping the Body exhibition.