The “Fabergé of footwear”, who gave fashion the stiletto and a famous buckle.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
Who was Roger Vivier?
A French shoe designer, trained as a sculptor, who opened his first Paris shop in 1937. From 1953 to 1963 he designed shoes for Christian Dior, the first time a couture house put a shoemaker’s name alongside its own. For the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 he made gold leather shoes set with garnets.
Did he invent the stiletto?
He is one of the designers most often credited with it, in the mid-1950s at Dior, along with Salvatore Ferragamo. He also invented sculptural heels with names like the comma and the choc. See the history of the high heel.
What is the Belle Vivier?
A low-heeled pump with a square toe and a large square metal buckle, launched in the mid-1960s. Catherine Deneuve wore it in Luis Buñuel’s Belle de Jour (1967), with costumes by Yves Saint Laurent, and it became the house’s signature. It is still made today in endless versions.
Who runs Roger Vivier now?
The brand was revived in the 2000s by Diego Della Valle, whose Tod’s group owns it. Gherardo Felloni, formerly of Dior and Miu Miu, has been creative director since 2018, and the house now works from Maison Vivier, an 18th-century townhouse in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris that once belonged to the founder.
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