Shoe designed by Emanuel Ungaro, 1980s. Courtesy Rossimoda Shoe Museum, CC BY NC ND.

The object is an ankle boot in red suede with seam details and a leather ribbon. It was designed by Emanuel Ungaro in the 1980s.

The right side of the upper part is shell-shaped, each fold drawn by a stitching in the same colour of the suede. The folds gather towards a cut-out detail, where a leather ribbon sneaks out. The boot stands on a cone heel.

Emanuel Ungaro started his career in the 1965, when he set up his own couture house in Paris. Despite what he had learnt as an assistant of Cristobal Balenciaga, his first collection lacked evening gowns, insisting instead on the fresher, youthful look that pervaded fashion during the decade. The designer remained at the head of his Maison for over four decades, developing throughout his work an elaborate language expressed also through the characteristic fabrics produced in collaboration with his muse and friend Sonja Knapp. During the Eighties, the designer used to borrow from an exotic imagery to decorate his sexy and baroque silhouettes, realized with lavish floral fabrics.

The object is part of Rossimoda Archive. Discover more on the Europeana fashion portal.