Hellstern & Sons
Hellstern & Sons , also Hellstern & Sons breveté Paris , was a manufacturer of luxury shoes for men and women based in Paris since the Belle Epoque . Hellstern & Sons customers came from European high society : from the European aristocracy, such as the Prince of Wales and Nicholas , the Tsar of Russia, the King of Belgium Léopold II and the Duchess of Kent , they were stage stars like Cléo de Mérode or Josephine Baker , or they came from business or finance.
history
In 1870 Louis Hellstern founded a shoemaker's shop and a shoe shop for men's shoes on rue du 29 juillet in Paris. In 1900 the company moved to Place Vendôme 23, which by then had already developed into a center for luxury fashion and luxury accessories. In the 1920s, the company developed under the direction of the founder's three sons, Louis Hellstern, Maurice, Charles and Henri Hellstern, into a flourishing shoe manufacturer that was famous for its extravagant women's shoes and which, at its peak in the 1920s, had over 100 workers busy. Qualified skilled workers were recruited in Italy or came from the École de cavalerie in Saumur . In the 1920s, more shoe stores were opened in London, Brussels and Cannes. The last shops were closed in the 1970s.
Models and material
The models for the women's shoes from Hellstern & Sons were limited to a few and fixed basic shapes. In addition to the tight-fitting boots made of fine leather with a side or back button placket or functional shoes such as riding boots or tennis shoes, women's shoes were generally only slightly varied in their basic shape. Typical for Hellstern & Sons shoes, both for closed shoes and for strappy shoes, is the Louis XV heel, a block heel with a waist-like indentation in the middle, consisting of a wooden core covered with leather. The heels are usually very elaborately decorated with inlays and applications made of more or less precious materials.
The differentiated color palette of the leather used and the preference for decor and applications in contrasting colors or striking materials on the upper leather are also typical. Also typical is a certain preference for buckles made of silver, bronze or steel, which were individually made for the individual shoe, but which have no function.
- materials
- Leather: goatskin (kid), crocodile, lizard and snake leather
- Textiles: silk, silk velvet, silk embroidery; Lame
- Decorative stones: rhinestones , Rhine pebbles , colored stones, marcasite , gagat ; Mother of pearl and real pearls
- Sequins and gold filigree
- openwork goatskin; Fringes made of leather, brocade thread or other textile materials
Collections
The International Shoe Museum in Romans-sur-Isère owns u. a. over 250 Hellstern shoes owned by a single woman. Hellstern & Sons shoes can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Fashion Museum in Bath , in the collection of the Palais Galliera in Paris and in the National Gallery of Australia in Caberra.
The collection of the Royal Collection Trust includes the children's shoes for the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, produced by Hellstern & Sons on the occasion of the state visit of the English royal couple in France in 1938 .
literature
- Marie-Josèphe Bossan: The Art of the Shoes . New York: Parkstone International 2016. (Multiple editions)
- Chapter: Shoemakers of Yesterday and Today. Bright star.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bootmakers Hellstern , accessed March 25, 2019
- ↑ a b c Marie Josèphe Bossan: The art of shoes . New York: Parkstone International 2016.
- ↑ TheMet , accessed March 23, 2019
- ↑ V&A collections , accessed on March 23, 2019
- ^ Fashion Museum Bath , accessed March 23, 2019
- ^ NGA, Hellstern and sons , accessed March 25, 2019
- ^ Royal Collection Trust , accessed March 23, 2019