Berluti’s “At Their Feet”

Berluti and Rizzoli have recently revealed an exciting first book together titled At Their Feet. After years of collaborations with famous co-creators, Berluti is now featuring their end-result in a book of shoes, featuring the story behind each shoe, and quotes by the creators. As part of its 120th anniversary, Berluti’s first book celebrates the alliance between design and shoemaking, offering looks at twenty-six of their most emblematic customers—those of which shoes were made for or by. Among Clark, Martin, and Smith sit other historical figures like Andy Warhol and Yves Saint Laurent. Each copy is one of a kind, with only 200 numbered copies in existence, and can be painted, tattooed or monogrammed on request, if you wish, at Berluti stores.

Each book’s cover is decorated in miniature shoes, true to their initial designs, and the creator’s name sits comfortably in a title bubble above. As you thumb through the book, you will notice quotations or anecdotes about or from the famous profiles. Next to Warhol’s we see: “Shoes flatter me. I think I like feet. My shoe is your shoe. À la recherche du shoe perdu.” It also doesn’t hurt to mention that all of the images were shot by award-winning photographer, Erwan Frotin, exclusively for the book.

The Venezian leather-bound book’s intimate launch party was a sweet showing of the long awaited books, and some of the shoes that they feature. At Berluti’s uptown location on Madison Avenue, shoes that were once co-created by influencers such as Larry Clark, Dean Martin, and Patti Smith were on display, and the book’s illustrator, Mathias Augustyniak, was joined by the book’s author, Glenn O’Brien, to sign and discuss the book. A representative nearby was seen hand-dying the book’s shell, and hor d’oeuvres, cocktails, and historical footwear stories were generously passed around.