In the mid 1940's Bernard Rudofsky created the fashion forward line of beyond creative leather sandals. At the time the concept was considered revolutionary and soon everyone from Jane Birkin to Twiggy to everyone's favorite first lady Jackie O were spotted in them. "Footwear without tears" was a brand new concept and the Austrain born provocateur was the man behind the sensation. His background in architecture aided in the design and construction of his sandals. Rudofsky believed in comfort, but not at the expense of style. His ultra sensible airy designs with casual cutting edge details such as the buttonlike toe tops were often worn in fashion shoots and runways. Jackie O has even said she owned 16 colors in her favorite thong sandals.
Dennis Comeau, who's been overseeing the designs shared with Elle "the incredible thing about Bernardos is that you could take one from 1955, 1965, or 1970 and put it on a shelf at Bergdorf Goodman now, and it will look exactly like today's sandals."
This spring they plan on putting this theory to the test with the launch of Bernado Vintage Couture, a capsule collection of 14 of its most celebrated styles. The capsule will include the haute-hippie Jingle Bells and iconic Button. Each design will be maticluously recreated from the oringal pieces and old photographs.You can find these desings availble now for $195 - 375. Check out the artical in the April 2011 issue of Elle magazine to find out where you can pick up a pair. And check out their website to see more of the incredible designs, Bernardo Vintage Couture.
Something Extra: If you wanna know more about the life and work of Bernard Rudofsky check out this video. It shows some of his amazing archetectural work as well as his cutting edge sandal designs which were even on exhibit at the Getty Center here in Los Angeles.