Who invented the stiletto and when?

Two important names associated with the stiletto; are French accessories brand Roger Vivier and Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, who has famous clients including Marilyn Monroe.

History of Stiletto

Although it became popular in the fashion world in the 1950s, the history of the stiletto as a design product goes back to the 19th century. However, they were produced when new technologies and materials were made available to designers during the Second World War. At the end of this war, the use of aluminum as a product of the developments in the aerospace and aircraft industry became widespread and it became possible to combine plastic and metal materials. As a result of this, the world's thinnest heel was produced.

The first stiletto heel with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 8-8.5 managed to become an indicator of attractive dressing and women's shoe fashion in this period, and this motto has continued until today. In this way, the use of these shoes became very popular in the 1950s, after the first thin heel and thin-heeled stilettos were produced.

According to some, the emergence of thin and high-heeled shoes, or the original name of the stiletto, was in the 1950s when thinness gained importance in the fashion world.

Bruno Frisoni, the manager of the famous French luxury accessories brand Roger Vivier, thinks so too. One of the two names associated with the first stiletto is Vivier, who gave the brand its name. The other is Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, who has clients like Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, and Bette Davis.

Frisoni says it's hard to settle the debate about who made the first stiletto. Dressing names such as Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, and Catherine Deneuve, Vivier was designing shoes with an architectural approach. Silhouette was very important to Vivier. In the shoe, a slight curve that fits the foot and a thin heel expressed a sexy look and special design, as well as a refined taste.

Manolo Blahnik (1942- ) is a Spanish designer of Czech and Spanish descent, primarily known for women's shoes. He popularized the stiletto heel in the 1970s, when the chunky heel was in style. He has won five fashion awards, and continues to be one of the most popular high-end shoe designers all around the world.

In 1974, the pointed-toed, pointed-toe designs of the fashion designer Manolo Blahnik would replace the apartment heels of the period.

Although stilettos were widely used as evening shoes in elegant invitations in the first days, they are also used in daily wear today.