Many consider heels to be wearable works of art – including the Brooklyn Museum. On September 10, the New York institution will launch a 160-piece exhibit, Killer Heels, that explores the high heel’s long history and its enduring place in fashion.

Image via hintmag.com

The exhibition showcases some of the oldest high heels to date, like a pair of 17th-century Italian chopines made of silk, leather, and wood and 19th-century silk-embroidered Manchu platform shoes from China. There are also modern marvels in the collection, such as the 20th-century wool “heel hat” by Elsa Schiaparelli in collaboration with Salvador Dalí and Marilyn Monroe’s famed Salvatore Ferragamo stilettos.

Mostly, the exhibit focuses on 21st-century pairs, including Christian Louboutin’s Spring 2013 Collection, Zaha Hadid’s chromed vinyl rubber and fiberglass “Nova” shoe for United Nude, Iris van Herpen’s 3D-printed heel, and CÉLINE’s mink-covered pump.

To accompany the displays, Killer Heels also commissioned six shoe-inspired short films from filmmakers Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Marilyn Minter, Zach Gold, Rashaad Newsome, and Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh.

As a self-proclaimed shoe addict, this is one show I’m not willing to miss.

By Brianna Lapolla, Staff Writer

What is the wildest heel you’ve ever seen? Tweet us at @ruelala.

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