Museum as shoeseum: What our footwear says about our souls

Elton John’s rainbow glass embossed platform boots, designed by Bill Whitten in the 1970s. [Photo by Charles Krupa/AP]

In 1993, supermodel Naomi Campbell made headlines when she stumbled on a Paris runway during Fashion Week. The Vivienne Westwood platforms Campbell was wearing - a pair of cobalt blue, mock crocodile skin shoes with 9-inch heels - became icons overnight. They're now part of the Salem show.

Also on display are several pairs from high-end retailers such as Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, made famous by the HBO series Sex and the City. One pair of men's golf shoes by Prada is covered in brightly colored rhinestones.

"You would never assume they're something men would play golf in," Roscoe Hartigan says.

But this exhibition is more than just a display of exclusive footwear. There are shoes used for foot binding, an ancient Chinese custom in which a girl's four toes were tucked beneath the foot in an effort to prevent growth. One pair of silk, cotton and metal-wrapped lotus shoes is just 4 inches long.

Until the 1600s, shoes were made to fit an individual - a process that could involve up to 200 stages of construction. By midcentury, Europe's middle class population exploded and ready-to-wear shoes became available.

On display are shoe lasts - wood or plastic forms used by shoemakers - from the late Princess Diana, Charlie Chaplin and other celebrities.

"The whole thing is pretty amazing," says Faith Kreider, of Newton, Massachusetts, who viewed the exhibition. "There's a wide variety of footwear down through the ages."