What to Know
- Pageant of the Masters will run nightly in Laguna Beach from July 6 through Aug. 30, 2024
- The "tableaux vivant" spectacular features beautifully costumed and made-up volunteers re-creating famous paintings and sculptures by holding quite still
- The sculptural "Angel Shoe" from Alexander McQueen will be featured in the 2024 event, which will spotlight fashion through the ages
There are, of course, shoes in paintings.
You'll find boots and slippers and clogs and dance shoes and everyday shoes depicted on countless canvases, and in all other forms of art, too. This is because paintings often feature people and those people are often clad in a variety of identifiable shoes, from sandals to wedges to sneakers.
That means that shoes have been seen before on the Pageant of the Masters stage, the hallowed place where well-known paintings and sculptures have been re-created, via the "tableaux vivant" style, for over 90 years.
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But have the talented performers, those captivating volunteers who hold their breath and keep still as they pose inside masterpieces, ever actually appeared in a shoe?
The answer, thus far, has been "not yet," but like anything at the whimsical, see-it-believe-it Laguna Beach show, things can and do change.
And change, things spectacularly shall, when designer Alexander McQueen's famous "Angel Shoe" appears on stage.
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The high heel, a silvery winged wonder with an angel at the back, will appear in larger-than-life form on the stage of the alfresco amphitheater.
The stunning shoe "... made its debut in the 'Angels and Demons' collection that followed McQueen’s death in February 2010," shared the Pageant of the Masters team.
"The shoe features a sculpted resin heel shaped like an angel, complemented by an intricate feather that forms along the sole. Leather wings with silver embroidery gracefully frame the foot, giving a sense of flight."
The haute high heel will appear in the "Fabulous Footwear" segment, which will include other elegant odes to those styles that so fetchingly cover feet.
Few shoes, though, have boasted an ethereal silver angel, an enticing element that is sure to make the Angel Shoe one of the evening's shimmering stars.
"I think it illustrates Alexander McQueen's immense creativity,” said Diane Challis Davy, Pageant of the Masters Director.
"McQueen drew inspiration from Byzantine art and Old Master paintings. I love the way he reinterprets art history into contemporary fashion. He is a true master of costume, materials and construction."
Tickets are on sale for the opulent extravaganza, which opens on July 6 and concludes Aug. 30.
Pictured: "Angel Shoe" by Alexander McQueen; photo credit Jaron James/V&A Photography Studio. Copyright: Victoria and Albert Museum London
