Cinderella Syndrome: A Journey In The Footsteps Of The Stiletto

High heels are one of fashion's most iconic, desirable, and controversial objects. Since their emergence in Western culture in the 17th century, the fashion world has had a love-hate relationship with them. Throughout history, they have symbolized power and status, but over time, they also came to represent restriction, pain, weakness, sexuality, and fetishism. Hige heels simultaneously inspired admiration, disdain, ridicule, desire, and rejection, and in some countries, laws were enacted against them. In Western fashion history, men wore heels until the 18th century to symbolize power and control. Still, high heels have become identified as an item used to construct a feminine image. Despite the complex history of high heels, particularly the sharply pointed stiletto, they remain one of the most beloved and worn fashion items worldwide.
The exhibition featured more than 60 exceptional models of high heels, platforms, and stilettos, all designed by top shoe and fashion designers in Israel. It showcased outstanding works by Shenkar, Bezalel, and the Guilda School students. All the models in the exhibition disregard questions of comfort, wearability, and commercial viability. Through various designs, the exhibition examined the different and opposing aspects inherent in high heels: from impossible heights to fetishism and erotica, fragility, gender and identity, and the transformation of high heels from wearable items to standalone artistic objects.
The famous Cinderella tale is still told around the world in various versions. Yet in every retelling, the shoe has always stood at the center as a recurring element, presented as an item with unique and magical powers capable of revealing our true identity, bringing about a complete transformation, and fulfilling our fantasies. The exhibition invited viewers on a deceptive journey between beauty and pain, fantasy and reality.