The historical evolution of footwear design from the Middle Ages to the birth of the sneaker

The chopine trend, clogs, oriental influences, Victorian era shoes, the most beloved accessory of Hollywood stars, the evolution of Italy’s footwear districts, the mixture of style and art, up to the birth of the sneaker phenomenon: 350 pages to describe the evolution of footwear design. The book entitled Un mondo di scarpe (A world of shoes) is written by Anna Paola Pascuzzi, footwear designer and product manager and, since 2017, teacher of theory and footwear design process for the course in fashion and costume sciences, in the Saras department of the Faculty of Arts at the Sapienza University of Rome. Indeed, the book, published in September 2021 in two editions, paper and digital, has been also adopted as a reading for the aforementioned degree course. The author wants to demonstrate that footwear is not just an ornament or a functional tool, but also an extension of one’s personality and identity. From an indispensable accessory to a design object, it can also become cultural expression and/or a social symbol. Starting from these reflections, the book offers a careful study of the evolution of footwear design over the course of history, analysing stylistic changes, influences, and social and historical-cultural echoes.