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Herbert Levine

Founded	1948
Founder	Herbert and Beth Levine
Headquarters	New York
Products	Shoes
Website	www.herbert-levine.com

Herbert Levine is an American luxury shoe label founded in 1948 by Herbert Levine and his wife Beth.

Label history [edit]

Groundwork [edit]

The Herbert Levine characterization was named subsequently one-time journalist Herbert. His wife, Beth, was the principal shoe designer of the characterization. She designed the footwear while Herbert handled the factory management, sales, and marketing.

The company [edit]

Herbert Levine, Inc. established its first factory on 31 West 31st Street in New York in Jan 1949. The factory started with a production of 400 pairs of shoes a calendar week; by 1954, it had 200 employees producing 5,000 pair of shoes a calendar week. In 1975, Herbert Levine, Inc. was still making 900 pairs of shoes a twenty-four hour period.

Herbert Levine shoes were distributed in numerous boutiques and high-end section stores across the Usa and Canada, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Joseph and Bonwit Teller. Herbert Levine shoes were also the first American shoes to be carried overseas past retailers such as Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Harrods in London.

In the 1950s, Herbert Levine advertisements were fatigued by famous New York illustrator Saul Steinberg and were regularly published in The New Yorker and in Harper's Bazaar.

Airtight in 1975, the label was revived in 2008 past Dennis Comeau^[i] and is today endemic by Luvanis, an investment property company.

The shoes [edit]

The Herbert Levine label gained media notoriety for outlandish designs: golden wood platforms, slippers with newspaper, coin, or processed-wrapper covered fabrics, Astroturf insoles, and shoes that were glued onto the wearer's nylon stockings.

Herbert Levine'southward greatest influence withal was re-introducing boots to women'southward style in the 1960s and the popularization of the shoe style known as mules.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Innovations [edit]

Style innovations introduced under the Herbert Levine label include:

Way Boots into Haute Couture. Herbert Levine is widely credited as the first label to accept introduced boots into Haute Couture.^[two] ^[three] As early every bit 1953, Herbert Levine introduced a calf-length boot in white kidskin,^[4] which sold poorly. Most retailers saw boots as a separate category of footwear from shoes, to be worn for protection from bad conditions or for work. By contrast, Herbert Levine argued that boots were shoes and could be an integral office of a woman's outfit. In 1957, Herbert Levine produced an entire drove built effectually fashion boots,^[5] and despite widespread skepticism on the part of other designers and manufacturers,^[6] calf-loftier, kitten-heeled fashion boots for women began to abound in popularity in the late 1950s and early on 1960s. With manner boots, Herbert Levine started a trend which remains current four decades later.
"Ballin' The Jack," also known as Jump-o-Lator mules, where an elastic strip immune the wearer to keep the shoes securely on while wearing stockings despite the lack of whatsoever straps at the side or back of the shoes.^[seven] Through much of the 1950s and 1960s a broad range of shoe designers used Herbert Levine'due south Spring-o-Lators in their shoe lines.
Stocking boots (panty hose with heels attached), as well as boots made from materials like vinyl and acrylic.
The "Kabuki" shoes, introduced in 1959, featured a close shoe ready atop a curved wooden platform.^[8]
"Cinderella" clear plastic shoes (1961),^[ix] a style that inspired later designers including Charles Jourdan.

Designs [edit]

On A Coil:^[10] Created in 1952, the unusual rolled heel of this shoe is a highlight of the label.
No-Shoe:^[11] Introduced in 1957, this unique pattern reduced footwear to its nearly essential element — the sole — which was treated as a decorative abstract shape. The topless shoes were designed on a dare from Stanley Marcus. While topless shoes were in fact functional (they were secured to the human foot with agglutinative pads), the form has more importance as a theoretical exercise than every bit a meaning mode. The "No-Shoe" was the culmination of the make's exploration of the transparent shoe concept, spearheaded by the Cinderella shoe. The issue is of a bared, tiptoeing foot: nature supported past artifice.
Aladdin'due south Lamp:^[12] Emulating the shape of the magic oil lamp of Aladdin, this shoe was actually designed in 1959 by Beth Levine at the request of Diana Vreeland, mode editor of Harper'southward Bazaar, who wanted a shoe with a depression heel, turned upwards at the toe, open all the same closed, and with jewels on it.
Barefoot in the Grass:^[13] Created in 1966, the "Barefoot in the Grass" sandals (made of an AstroTurf insole, a vinyl vamp and a green kid heel), are a witty use of contemporary and unexpected materials. When those sandals were worn, the grass was supposed to go with you lot.

Herbert Levine's "Race Car Shoe," "Barefoot in the Grass," and "Paper Twist" shoes

Paper Twist:^[14] Appearing in a special characteristic of Harper'due south Bazaar (July 1967), "Paper Twist" shoes were designed past Kathryn Stoll for Herbert Levine. The serial was composed of brightly colored, doublefaced, laminated paper strips twisted into exquisite swirls and multicolour bands that flexed on composition soles.
Race Car Shoe:^[15] First designed for the wife of ane of the drivers in the 1967's Indianapolis 500, Herbert Levine produced many more versions over the years, including evening shoes with windshields and headlights. The shoe was featured in the 1967 motion picture Sole Art as well as in a full editorial spread in Harper's Bazaar in March 1967. Prada also drew inspiration from classic American cars for its Spring 2012 shoe collection. The effect, hot rod heels with headlights and chrome, bears a striking resemblance to Levine's race car shoe.^[16]
Scarf Shoe:^[17] Winning eternal fame thanks to a legendary pic from renowned lensman Guy Bourdin published in Harper's Bazaar in 1968, the "Scarf Shoe" is an iconic model of the Herbert Levine line. Enclosing all the body in yards of silk chiffon, the "Scarf Shoe" flies up from a jewelled heel. Each "Scarf Shoe," a free-flowing stocking based on a solid sole, covered the leg with long streamers wrapping around the body.
Lunar Boot: A series of space-age boots were created to accept reward of the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon on July 20, 1969. The "Lunar Boot" was created out of cogitating infinite-adjust material and was a collaboration between Beth Levine and Sara Trivial Turnbull, an innovative product designer who was then collaborating with NASA.

Celebrity clients [edit]

First Ladies [edit]

The business firm of Herbert Levine served United states of america Start Ladies Jackie Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, and Patricia Nixon in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Herbert Levine fabricated black velvet knee-high boots for Mamie Eisenhower likewise as most of her pumps. For Jackie Kennedy, Herbert Levine custom-made a pair of thigh-loftier boots in burlap with a stacked heel, equally well as many of the flats that became a signature element of the Jackie Kennedy style.

Stars and socialites [edit]

In addition to the popularity of the label with Presidents' wives, Herbert Levine shoes were also a favorite of Broadway stars, movie stars, and socialites. Some of the make's famous clients included Barbra Streisand, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Dinah Shore, Janis Paige, Jane Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Joan Crawford, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Walters, Julie Andrews, Rita Hayworth, Peggy Lee, Cyd Charisse, Joan Collins, Cher, Linda Evans, Babe Paley, Rosemary Clooney, Betty Grable, Gladys Knight, Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds, Arlene Francis, Phyllis Diller, Helen Hayes, Chita Rivera, Joan Sutherland, Gwen Verdon, Liv Ullmann, Agnes de Mille, Carol Channing, Ali MacGraw, Barbara Unhurt, and Angela Lansbury.^[18]

Marilyn Monroe wore Herbert Levine shoes both in her private and public life. Visiting Bement on August nine, 1955, Marilyn wore a pair of Herbert Levine's Spring-o-Lators, immortalized past many pictures, notably the serial taken by photojournalist Eve Arnold. In 1957, Marilyn purchased Herbert Levine red stilettos (size 7AA) from the Faddy shop in Montreal; those shoes are now function of the Bata Shoe Museum collection in Toronto.^[19]

Marlene Dietrich ordered many custom pairs of the so-chosen "Gigi Stocking Shoes" (in size 7 ^1/2B), and inspired the "Marlene Kicking" line of the label, named for her famous legs.

Joan Crawford was a fan of Herbert Levine's Cinderella shoes. She had those Vinylite shoes custom made by Herbert Levine because "she loved to see her feet."^[20]

Famous appearances [edit]

Nancy Sinatra wore Herbert Levine boots for publicity shots and on phase during her menstruation of fame for the vocal "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'."
Shirley MacLaine used Herbert Levine boots for dance numbers in Sweet Charity (1966) and Irma La Douce (1960), as did Eydie Gorme in the Broadway bear witness Golden Rainbow (1968). Raquel Welch wore them in her television multifariousness specials.
Television character Della Street (portrayed by Barbara Hale) in the popular Perry Stonemason series often made Herbert Levine' Spring-o-Lators function of her trademark wardrobe.
Elaine Stritch and all women wore Herbert Levines in Visitor (1970).
Lady Bird Johnson, and her daughters, Lynda Bird and Lucy Baines, wore Herbert Levine shoes for Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 inauguration.
Patricia Nixon and her daughters, Tricia and Julie, wore Herbert Levine shoes for both Richard Nixon's 1969 and 1973 inauguration balls.^[21]

Mr. and Mrs. Levine were hired in 1965, along with famed couturier Emilio Pucci and designer Alexander Girard, to help overhaul a new look and style for Braniff International Airways. The campaign, adult by Jack Tinker and partner Mary Wells Lawrence, was dubbed The Cease Of The Plain Aeroplane, and was a revolutionary airline overhaul that had never before been attempted. The campaign was considered one of the most successful advertising and image reworks in history.

Awards and Accolades [edit]

In 1954, Herbert and Beth Levine were awarded a Neiman Marcus Way Award for their shoe designs.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1967, a Coty Special Fashion Critics Accolade was awarded to Beth and Herbert Levine for "the look of the leg." In 1973, Beth and Herbert Levine received a second Coty Award; to this solar day they remain the only shoe designers ever to win it twice.^{[ citation needed ]}

Manolo Blahnik: "Beth Levine is without a dubiety the most influential American shoe designer of the 20th century. She is to shoes what Eames is to furniture."^[22]

Christian Louboutin: "Beth Levine was an influential free spirit. In that location is cipher that I like more than than seeing a creation coming from pure fun and pleasance, and this is always the case with Levine'south refreshing work. God bless her for that!"^[23]

Museums and Retrospectives [edit]

Herbert Levine in Museums [edit]

Herbert Levine shoes are in the collections of more than than twenty museums effectually the world, including the Costume Establish at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which owns around 140 pairs), the Way Institute of Engineering science in New York, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, and the Kyoto Costume Institute in Japan.^{[ citation needed ]}

Retrospectives on Beth and Herbert Levine [edit]

"Herbert Levine," The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine art, New York, 1976.
"Herbert and Beth Levine: An American Pair," The Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, 1999 and Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington, Kentucky, 2000.
"Beth Levine: From Subcontract to Fashion," Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Club, New York, 2007.
"Beth Levine: The First Lady of Shoes," Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum, Netherlands, 2009,^[24] Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle, 2010.,^[25] ^[26] and Long Island Museum, New York, 2015.^[27] ^[28]

External links [edit]

Herbert Levine Official Website

Notes [edit]

^ "WSA Today", August 2008. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-22. Retrieved 2013-07-22 . {{cite spider web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Verin, Helene (2009). Beth Levine Shoes. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. p. 43. ISBN978-ane-58479-759-3.
^ "Beth Levine, First Lady of Shoes". Dexigner. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
^ "Accession # 1977.287.14a, b: Herbert Levine white boots, 1952". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
^ "Accession # 1976.166.12a, b: Herbert Levine fashion boots, 1958-sixty". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved ten July 2010.
^ Sheppard, Eugenia (22 August 1967), "Shoes, Like Sundials, Tell Time", Hartford Courant
^ "Accretion #1973.276.24a, b: Herbert Levine Ballin' The Jack shoes, 1952". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accretion #1973.276.1: Herbert Levine Ballin' The Jack shoes, 1952". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accretion #1973.276.2: Herbert Levine Ballin' The Jack shoes, 1952". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accession #1977.287.37a, b: Herbert Levine Ballin' The Jack shoes, 1955". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accession # 1973.276.25a, b: Herbert Levine Kabuki shoes, 1962". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accession # 1976.166.16a, b: Herbert Levine Kabuki shoes, 1960-63". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accession # 2009.300.1636: Herbert Levine Kabuki shoes, ca 1965". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010. "Accession # 2009.300.3393: Herbert Levine Kabuki shoes, ca 1966". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accession #1973.276.30a, b: Herbert Levine Cinderella shoes, 1965". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accretion #1977.287.20: Herbert Levine On A Scroll shoes, 1960". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accession #2009.300.3917a, b: Herbert Levine No-Shoe, 1957". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accession #1977.287.19a, b: Herbert Levine Aladdin's Lamp shoes, 1959". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accession #1976.166.7a, b: Herbert Levine Barefoot in the Grass, 1966". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accretion #1975.295.12a, b: Herbert Levine Paper Twist shoes, ca 1968". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Accretion #1977.276.29a, b: Herbert Levine Race Car shoes, 1959". Metropolitan Museum of Fine art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ Ramzi, Lilah (11 July 2013). "Prada and Herbert Levine Bring New Pregnant to the Term 'Driving Shoe'". Fashionista . Retrieved 2017-xi-sixteen .
^ "Accession #1977.287.1a, b: Herbert Levine Scarf Shoe, 1968". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ List of clients cited in Helene Verin, Beth Levine Shoes, Steward, Tabori & Chang, 2009, p. 48-fifty.
^ "Footwear from famous people - Marilyn Monroe's Herbert Levine red leather stiletto shoes". The Bata Shoe Museum. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
^ Beth Levine, interview past Nancy Pollock, Jan four, 2000.
^ "Pat Nixon'south Herbert Levine shoes - The First Ladies at the Smithsonian". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
^ Helene Verin, Beth Levine Shoes, Steward, Tabori & Chang, 2009
^ Helene Verin, Beth Levine Shoes, Steward, Tabori & Chang, 2009
^ "Opening van Beth Levine : Outset Lady of Shoes". Nederlands Leder & Schoenen Museum. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
^ "Beth Levine : First Lady of Shoes". Bellevue Arts Museum. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
^ "Currently Hanging: Beth Levine, First Lady of Shoes". The Strangler. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
^ "The Long Isle Museum | Beth Levine". longislandmuseum.org . Retrieved 2017-11-16 .
^ Jacobson, Aileen (2015-10-15). "Exploring Beth Levine's Loftier-Manner Footwear at the Long Isle Museum". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-xi-sixteen .