Rumor has it that Roger Vivier only came to be one of the world’s finest shoe designers after his career on stage didn’t work out. Vivier ended up studying sculpture at L’Ecole Des Beaux Arts, until a family friend gave him a job at a shoe factory outside of Paris, where he learned that he could make wearable sculptures. These color block varnish ballerinas by Roger Vivier are every bit as emotive as any stage performance, making us grateful for the failing of Vivier (actor) that made the awe inspiring excellence of Vivier (sculptor/designer/perfectionist) possible.