Photos By Gail

What we now refer to as the Red Carpet debuted at the 1922 premiere of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, the “First King of Hollywood.” Today, the pre-show parade of stars outside the Academy Awards is arguably as important to the fashion industry as the ceremony itself is to film. For the 2002 Oscars, actress Laura Elena Harring (Mulholland Drive) wore a pair of Stuart Weitzman stilettos ornamented with 464 Kwiat diamonds.

While the shoes shown here are a 2012 reproduction, the original Million Dollar Sandals inspired the installation of a shoe-level camera on the red carpet, shifting fashion’s gaze decidedly footward. The designer also issued the famous shoes with a more affordable Swarovski crystals option.

Photographed as Part of Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes, on Exhibit Through October 8th, 2018, at the New York Historical Society, Located at 77th Street and CPW in NYC.