Photo by Kevin Mazur
Prince
Prince was known for being a boundary-pushing artist until his death in 2016, and his fashion sense was no different. This July, Paisley Park is opening a new exhibit, The Beautiful Collection: Prince’s Custom Shoes, making it “the largest ever display spotlighting Prince’s footwear.”
The former home, recording compound, and concert hall for Prince in Chanhassen is planning to launch the exhibit as part of its tours beginning Friday, July 9. Featuring over 300 pairs of heels, platform sneakers, and even roller skates (of the 1,200 pairs of kicks archived), the installation exemplifies Prince’s eclecticism in the fashion industry and pop culture. His shoes were just as key to his image, and needed to be durable for endless nights on tour dancing, doing the splits, and jumping off pianos.
“Prince challenged conventional fashion norms, inspiring designers and consumers to rethink how people should dress. His unique fashion sensibility, embracing his feminine side and accessorizing nearly every outfit with a pair of custom made high-heeled boots, fearlessly pushed the envelope of social acceptance and how we define masculinity,” a press release from Paisley Park states.
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Photo by Tony Sylvers
New Power Generation Shoes
These shoes (and their matching pajama-style outfit) feature photos of Prince’s band, The New Power Generation. The images seen on the shoes “were transferred onto silk charmeuse, and then color was hand-painted on,” according to Stacia Lang, the designer of the matching outfit.
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Photo by Tony Sylvers
Diamonds Are Forever Shoes
Prince wore these black shoes with gold lame stripes and Love Symbol #2 zipper pulls, along with a matching turtleneck sweater, when he and his then-wife Mayte Garcia met Prince Charles at the De Beers and Versace “Diamonds Are Forever” charity fashion gala on June 9th, 1999, in West London.
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Photo by Tony Sylvers
AMA Shoes
In 1985 Prince took to the American. Music Award. stage in these shoes to perform “Purple Rain.” That. evening, he took home trophies for Best Soul/R&B Album and Best Pop/Rock Album for Purple Rain, as well as Best Soul/R&B Single for “When Doves Cry.”
The exhibition will be showcased in a “newly designed area” alongside displays, video clips of Prince, and recorded insights from the shoemakers, custom designers, and collaborators who helped craft the collection. Among them? Donatella Versace, who Prince had a fruitful creative partnership with, and his longtime shoemakers Andre No.1 and Cos Kyriacou.
The shoes on display include some of Prince’s most iconic pairs, from the blue ankle boots hand-painted with white clouds that appear in the “Raspberry Beret” music video to the blue beaded pair worn to the 57th Academy Awards where Prince accepted the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Purple Rain. Always up for making a statement, one pair of shoes is adorned with a gold metallic “Free Music” sticker, echoing his relationship with record labels.
Tickets are on sale now for tours through September 6. paisleypark.com
