Belgian Shoes

Last updated
Belgian Shoes
Industry Footwear, Fashion
Founded1955;66 years ago (1955)
FounderHenri Bendel
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsLoafers
Website belgianshoes.com

Belgian Shoes are a variety of handstitched loafer, manufactured in Izegem, Belgium, a historic centre of the nation's shoe industry. The shoes are known for their small bow near the top of the vamp.

Contents

History

The shoes were designed by Henri Bendel, the nephew of Henri Bendel, the founder of the eponymous New York boutique. When the Bendel family sold the family's department store in 1955, Bendel established the Belgian Shoes boutique at 60 East 56th Street, Manhattan, [1] before moving to the current address at 110 East 55th Street in 2001. [2]

Clients

Belgian Shoes have been traditionally considered a status symbol among the Upper East Side and Hamptons social set, but have in the past several years become more widely worn. [3] As early as the 1960s the shoe was considered notable as signifying a resistance to prevailing fashion trends, [1] and there have been few significant changes to the range since then. [2] Notable wearers of the shoe include Isaac Mizrahi [4] and Bernie Madoff. [5]

Awards

For his efforts in reviving the Belgian shoe industry through the design and sale of the shoe, the Belgian government awarded Bendel the Knight of the Order of Leopold the First in 1964, and Knight Commander of the Order of Leopold the Second in 1970. [6]

Related Research Articles

Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi is an American fashion designer, TV presenter, and Chief Designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands. Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. Mizrahi currently serves as a judge on Project Runway: All Stars.

Patrick Cox is a Canadian-British fashion designer and an eponymous fashion label specializing in the creation of shoes, leather goods and accessories. Cox is most noted for the use of unusual materials and a mixture of avant-garde and traditional styles.

Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel, established in 1895, was a women's accessories store based in New York City that sold the Henri Bendel brand of handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its flagship New York store was located at 712 Fifth Avenue.

Donald Brooks

Donald Brooks was an American fashion designer and creator of the "American Look" founded in the 1950s and 1960s. He had an immense passion for stage and film, designing well over 3500 costumes. His efforts were recognized by an Emmy Award and numerous other honors; he was also nominated three times for the Academy Award and once for a Tony.

Susan Bennis/Warren Edwards was a successful New York-based shoe company founded in 1972 by Susan Bennis and Warren Edwards. It dissolved in 1997.

Longchamp is a French luxury leather goods company, founded in Paris in 1948 by Jean Cassegrain.

Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company revived its haute couture collection in 2015 under former Creative Director Hedi Slimane. In April 2016, Anthony Vaccarello was appointed as Creative Director.

Lanvin (company)

Lanvin is a French multinational high fashion house, which was founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889. It is the third oldest French fashion house still in operation. In 1990, the house was taken over by the Orcofi Group, then sold to l’Oréal in 1996. In 2001, Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media magnate, took Lanvin private again. On 14 March 2016, Bouchra Jarrar was appointed as Creative Director for Women’s Collection, replacing Alber Elbaz, who had transformed the company over the previous fourteen years. Bouchra's departure was announced on 6 July 2017. She was succeeded as artistic director by Olivier Lapidus, who left the company without a named successor on 22 March 2018. Men’s Collections have been headed by Lucas Ossendrijver since 2005. Bruno Sialelli has been the head designer for both the men's and the women's collections since 2019.

CELINE is a French ready-to-wear and leather luxury goods brand that has been owned by LVMH group since 1996. It was founded in 1945 by Céline Vipiana. Since November 2015, the headquarters are located at 16 rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris at the Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, which has French Historic Monument classification. Séverine Merle is the Chief Executive Officer since April 2017.

Julie Haus-Alkire is a fashion designer from USA. She has designed for her line Julie Haus, and the women's designer collection Haus Alkire. In 2018, she was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Stephen Burrows is an American fashion designer based in New York City. Burrows studied at Fashion Institute of Technology, then began work in the New York City's Garment Center, alternately managing his own businesses and working closely with luxury department store Henri Bendel. He is known for being one of the first African-American fashion designers to sell internationally and develop a mainstream, high-fashion clientele. His garments, known for their bright colors and "lettuce hem" curly-edges, became an integral part of the "Fun City" New York City disco-dancing scene of the 1970s.

Billy Reid is an American fashion designer based in Florence, Alabama. His line includes men's, women's, accessories and eyewear. His clothing, self-described as “lived-in luxury” and "broken-in luxury", is known for its classic styles in high quality fabrics with unusual accents and Southern influence. Reid summarizes his brand's concept as "American luxury built to last." Billy Reid, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, and Michael Kors are the only fashion designers who have won 3 or more CFDA Awards.

Christiane Lemieux is an interior and household goods designer. She is a founder of The Inside, a direct-to-consumer home furnishings company. Formerly, she was the founder and creative director of DwellStudio, a fashion and home design brand that was bought by Wayfair in 2013.

Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand which sells menswear, women's wear and accessories in Europe, North America and East Asia. The brand claims deeply rooted moral values, such as being a "humanistic enterprise" and using craftsmanship to lend moral dignity to both the artisan and the owner.

Capri Holdings Fashion company

Capri Holdings Limited is a multinational fashion holding company, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, with executive offices in London and operational offices in New York. It was founded in 1981 by American designer Michael Kors. The company sells clothes, shoes, watches, handbags, and other accessories. Michael Kors handbags have been a popular fashion trend among women of all ages. In 2015, the company had more than 550 stores and over 1500 in-store boutiques in various countries.

Tory Burch LLC is an American fashion label based in New York City, New York, United States. It was founded by American designer Tory Burch in 2004. Pierre-Yves Roussel is the current CEO of the company.

Duke & Dexter is a British born footwear label, specialising in premium men’s shoes. The brand was founded by Archie Hewlett in 2014.

Brujas is an American all-female skate collective based in the Bronx, New York. The name derived from a 1986 video called Skate Witches.

Kaisik Wong American fashion designer

Kaisik Wong was a Chinese-American fashion designer. He emerged from San Francisco wearable art movement in the early 1970s and was active until his death from leukemia in 1990. Wong created avant-garde garments for celebrities such as Salvador Dalí, Anjelica Huston, Elton John, and Tina Turner. His clothing was sold at Henri Bendel, I. Magnin, and Obiko. He is known for his patchwork vest, which was the inspiration for Balenciaga's Spring/Summer 2002 collection.

References

  1. 1 2 Bender, Marilyn (April 27, 1963). "Belgian Shoe Sticks to Classic Last". New York Times.
  2. 1 2 "Retail Profile: Belgian Shoes". Footwear News. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  3. Hine, Samuel. "Three of the City's Coolest Designers on How They Wear New York's Oldest-School Loafer". GQ. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  4. .Tashjian, Rachel. "Isaac Mizrahi, King of the Belgian Loafer". GQ. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  5. Hine, Samuel. "Three of the City's Coolest Designers on How They Wear New York's Oldest-School Loafer". GQ. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  6. McQuiston, John (September 22, 1997). "Henri Bendel, 89, Head of Store And Founder of Belgian Shoes (Obituary)". The New York Times.