Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo are just a few of the famous contemporary shoe designers who owe much of their success to an early 19th century gentleman revered at the time for his style, manners and worldliness. Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count d’Orsay was an eclectic nobleman and artist who married into the British aristocracy. He became the touchstone of manners, taste, and understated luxury at the English royal court and high society.

The Comte d’Orsay gained fame throughout France, Britain, and the Rhône Valley as a painter, sculptor, chronicler, and wit. He was considered the “most perfect gentleman of his age”. Cynics spoke of men like Beau Brummel and the Count as “dandies.” The term “dossy”, in common use during the first half of the 19th century, was considered to be derived from his name and to mean a man who was a “graceful referee”.

The privileged class of that time was very interested in everything related to fashion and vanity. Shoes and footwear were of particular interest. Ever since Catherine de Medici, in 16th century Italy, wore two-inch heels to negate her diminutive stature, the search for shoes with increasingly exaggerated heels had become a passion. At the time of the reign of the famous French Sun King, Louis XIV, royal women teetered on high soles and heels so ridiculously high that they needed some kind of ski pole to stay upright.

The Comte d’Orsay had been a soldier in his youth and a brave one. Uniforms and military clothing were of great importance to him. He was not happy with the military parade shoes of his day. He designed a military shoe for men in 1838. The profile of the shoe was quite different from the court shoe of the time, fitting more comfortably and featuring low-cut sides and a V-shaped upper. The silhouette became so popular that it was soon adopted by women. This is how the d”Orsay high-heeled shoe was born.

“D’Orsay pumps bare the sexiest part of the foot, the curved instep. The curve of the instep resembles the curves of a woman’s body, and is normally not exposed, but hidden from view,” she said. Christian Louboutin, describing the modern influence and popularity of the d’Orsay style of high-heeled shoe. Modern materials, technology and design have combined to make women’s shoes ever more exotic and dynamic. The d’Orsay styles sold today reflect the engineering advances that the pioneering styles created by the Count d’Orsay have evolved into.

The origins of the d’Orsay-designed shoe have been largely forgotten. Most women who wear the d’Orsay don’t even know the proper historical name for the shoe. However, the design is one of the most popular today, worn and favored by stylish women everywhere.

The Count d’Orsay inadvertently created an enduring fashion style for women by striving to create footwear for men. Modern couture designers have taken their military-led shoes and hopped the style onto runway shows, department stores and boutiques where they’re paired with increasingly feminine fashion creations. This is a classic example of a product or design evolving from its original intended market to an ultimately more successful use.

By: Geoff Ficke