{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1812809"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1812809/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2026PN5169/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2026PN5169/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2026PN5169","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2026PN0904","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2026PN0905","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2026PN5170","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1812809","accessionNumber":"T.11:1&2-2026","objectType":"Pair of shoes","titles":[{"title":"Rocking Horse shoes","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Pair of shoes, the uppers flat-soled ballerina pumps in black leather with long leather ties designed to wrap around the leg and fasten wth Velcro tabs; the platform soles of blond wood cut away under the heel and curved sharply upwards under the toe. The sole of the platform coated with natural black rubber.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Vivienne Westwood","id":"A4913"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"leather","id":"AAT11845"},{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"},{"text":"velcro","id":"x30257"}],"techniques":[{"text":"shoe-making","id":"x40339"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"leather, wood, rubber","categories":[{"text":"Footwear","id":"THES48951"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Accessories","id":"THES48998"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2026PN5169","2026PN0904","2026PN0905","2026PN5170"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"006","id":"THES385816"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"006","id":"THES385816"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"shoes","id":"AAT46065"}],[{"text":"shoes","id":"AAT46065"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1985","earliest":"1985-01-01","latest":"1985-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""},{"date":{"text":"c.2010","earliest":"2005-01-01","latest":"2014-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"T.12:1-2026","id":"O1812810"},"association":"Reproduction"},{"object":{"text":"T.191:1-2002","id":"O70079"},"association":"Ensemble"},{"object":{"text":"T.190:1-2002","id":"O70070"},"association":"Ensemble"}],"creditLine":"Given anonymously","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"14","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"27/01/2026","earliest":"2026-01-27","latest":"2026-01-27"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"27/01/2026","earliest":"2026-01-27","latest":"2026-01-27"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"28","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"27/01/2026","earliest":"2026-01-27","latest":"2026-01-27"},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Dame Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022) was internationally famous as one of the most influential British fashion designers of the late 20th-century. Many of the designs that Westwood first created in the 1980s and 1990s continue to be produced by the Vivienne Westwood label today, particularly her distinctive platform shoes. One of her first platform designs, in 1985, was the Rocking-Horse shoe whose wooden platform is carved to curve sharply upwards under the toe like a rocking horse, with a rectangular wedge of wood cut away underneath the heel, requiring the wearer to shift (or rock) their weight towards their toes to stand upright.\n\nThe original design, which these reproduce, was a kid leather ballerina pump with two long leather straps to be wound around the ankle or lower leg and either tied or secured with tabs of Velcro sewn into the end of each strap. The shoes were originally designed to accompany Westwood's Spring-Summer 1985 collection Mini-Crini. In the designer's words, 'Mini-Crini represented a \"cardinal change\" - a shift towards tailoring and things that fitted' as well as deliberately focusing on reworking ideas from historical dress such as cage-crinolines and corsets. (Claire Wilcox, 'Vivienne Westwood: 34 years in fashion' in<i> Vivienne Westwood</i>, V&A Publishing, 2004, p.20). Westwood said: 'I wanted these little childish shoes, like sandals but a bit like clogs. They had to have a little platform - they rocked a bit. They were important in the collection' (Wilcox, p.20). The shoes are prominent in fashion photographs of the collection, such as a 1985 image by Declan Ryan (Wilcox, p.75) showing model Sarah Stockbridge in the British Museum wearing white versions of the shoes. Rocking Horse platforms with varied uppers were a runway staple in subsequent Westwood collections throughout the late 1980s, eventually superseded by high heeled platforms in the early 1990s. In the early 21st-century, Westwood, noting the strong demand for her vintage designs, began selling replicas of key designs, including the Rocking-Horse shoes.  Unchanged from their 1985 design other than the updated labelling, official replica shoes like these were made available from Vivienne Westwood retailers since the early 2000s.\n\nVivienne Westwood's original designs have been echoed by many other labels and companies, sometimes so closely that the echoes may seem more like copying. This pair of shoes was acquired alongside a pair of similar shoes by Oki Kutsu  (established in 2015 (some official sources state 2017) by the high street shoe chain OFFICE (founded 1983)). Both pairs of shoes were originally given anonymously to the V&amp;A in 2015, at which time it was suggested that they might have been used as evidence in a legal case raised by Vivienne Westwood against OFFICE, and subsequently left at the V&amp;A by person or persons unknown. While it has not been possible to locate a record of any such lawsuit, this may simply mean that if anything happened, it was settled out of court. When the Westwood and Oki Kutsu shoes are compared side by side, many subtle variations are apparent. It is difficult to say whether these make the Oki Kutsu shoes distinct enough to be considered a homage to Westwood's work, rather than an unauthorised copy. The most apparent differences between the two pairs are that the Westwood shoes are completely flat-soled inside the shoe, while the Oki Kutsu examples have a slightly raised heel following the natural foot shape. The Westwood shoes have a black rubber sole and 100% leather uppers, while the Oki Kutsu pair's brown sole blends with the wooden platform and their synthetic suede uppers have polyester satin ribbons. The Oki Kutsu shoes also have a sky-blue interior and woven cloth label, whilst the Westwood shoes have a tanned leather interior with a stamped label.\n\n- Daniel Milford-Cottam, 28/01/2026","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"'Rocking Horse' shoes by Vivienne Westwood, London, designed 1985 and made c.2010. Black leather with wooden platform sole","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.11:1-2026","T.11:2-2026"],"accessionNumberNum":"11","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2026,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-20","recordCreationDate":"2025-12-08","availableToBook":false}}