There are many iconic shoes in fashion’s timeline, but none like Roger Vivier’s “Belle Vivier” pump. Classic, elegant and edgy, “Belle Vivier” made its debut in Yves Saint Laurent’s 1965 Mondrian collection. The shoe, specially designed for the now-historic collection, would come to transcend the “Mod” decade.
Becoming an instant favorite — no matter the heel height or version — of celebrities, inclusive of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve as well as an A-list of socialites, models, influencers, royals and first ladies. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Nancy Reagan were fans of Roger Vivier and so is Melania Trump, who recently wore a version of the “Belle Vivier” shoe style, reinstating its iconic status 60 years later.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Getty Images Yves St. Laurent standing outside his Rive Gauche boutique in France, with a model wearing an ensemble from his 1966 collection with “Belle Vivier” pumps.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Yvonne de Peyerimhoff, wearing Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian dress and Belle Vivier pumps while accompanying the designer on his visit to Los Angeles on October 29, 1965.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Getty Images Yves Saint Laurent fashion show front row. (L-R) actress Elsa Martinelli, singer Francoise Hardy, actress Catherine Deneuve, ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire and fashion model Fiona Campbell-Walter (formerly Baroness Fiona von Thyssen) February 3rd 1967.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Margaret Case, the Duchess of Windsor and Diana Vreeland leaving the restaurant Lafayette after a luncheon on October 10, 1965 in New York.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Socialite Babe Paley leaving Gertrude’s after a lunch with Jean Tailer on April 8, 1974 in New York.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Socialite Lee Radziwill and writer Truman Capote leaving The Colony restaurant on September 3, 1968 in New York City.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Fashion designers Andre Olivier and Pierre Cardin with manager and socialite Nicole Alphand in New York on October 7, 1967.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Editor Diana Vreeland arriving for a show of Halston’s made-to-order Fall 1973 collection in New York City.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Jacqueline Kennedy photographed in Manhattan on March 2, 1967.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Catherine Deneuve arriving at an Yves Saint Laurent fashion show in 1967.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis photographed walking in New York City on September 18, 1968.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive A model on the runway at the Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2002 haute couture and retrospective show at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Mondrain dress and Belle Vivier shoes from YSL’s Spring 1965 collection.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Model Audrey Marnay on the runway at the Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2002 haute couture and retrospective show at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Bridal look from YSL’s Spring 1965 collection.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Getty Images Winnie Harlow attends the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2019 at Tate Modern on September 03, 2019 in London, England.
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60 Years of Timeless Elegance: Roger Vivier’s Iconic Belle Vivier Pump
Image Credit: Steve Eichner Ines de la Fressange attends Saks Fifth Avenue’s Roger Vivier boutique opening on April 11, 2005.