Editing Platform shoe (section)

==History==
Platform shoes are known in many cultures. The most famous predecessor of platform shoes are the Zoccoli in [[Venice]] of the 15th century, designed with the functional goal of avoiding wet feet when the pavements were flooded. Depending on the current shoe fashion, platform shoes are more or less popular. In the 1970s they were widespread in both genders in Europe. Today, they are preferred by women.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Weber|first1=Paul|title=Schuhe. Drei Jahrtausende in Bildern|language=de|year=1980|publisher=AT Verlag|location=Aarau|isbn=3-85502-064-7}}</ref>

===Ancient===
[[File:1773 patten.png|thumb|left|240px|A maid wearing circle-type pattens: ''Piety in Pattens or Timbertoe on Tiptoe'', England 1773]]
After their use in [[Ancient Greece]] for raising the height of important characters in the Greek theatre and their similar use by high-born prostitutes or [[courtesans]] in London in the sixteenth century, platform shoes, called [[Patten (shoe)|pattens]], are thought to have been worn in Europe in the eighteenth century to avoid the muck of urban streets. Of the same practical origins are Japanese ''[[geta (footwear)|geta]]''. There may also be a connection to the [[buskin]]s of [[Ancient Rome]], which frequently had very thick soles to give added height to the wearer. Another example of a platform shoe that functioned as protection from dirt and grime is the Okobo- "Okobo" referring to the sound that the wooden shoe makes when walking. Dating back to 18th century Japan, the Okobo was worn by maikos, or geishas, during their apprenticeships. Similar to the Okobo, wooden Kabkabs were named after the sound they made upon marble flooring. Worn by Lebanese women between the 14th and 17th centuries, the straps were often made from velvet, leather, or silk while the wooden stilts were decorated with silver or pearl. The ancient Indian Paduka, which translates to footprints of the Gods, was often sported by the upper echelon as a way to mark their status. The wooden platforms were sometimes carved into different animal shapes and decorated with ivory and silver.<ref>“The History of Platform Heels.” Fabulous Platform Shoes, fabulousplatformshoes.com/the-history-of-platform-heels.</ref> In [[ancient China]], men wore black boots with very thick soles made from layers of white cloths. This style of boots is often worn today onstage for [[Peking opera]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Characteristics of Peking Opera Costumes(4) |url=http://www.1155815.com/english/cultures/200804/856_4.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516090250/http://www.1155815.com/english/cultures/200804/856_4.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2013 |work=1155815 – Chinese Folklores & Festivals |publisher=1155815 – Chinese Folklores & Festivals Website |access-date=3 June 2012 |author=Staff |year=2006–2010 }}</ref> During the [[Qing dynasty]], aristocratic [[Manchu]] women wore a form of platform known as the [[flowerpot shoe]] to imitate the gait of [[Han Chinese|Han]] women with [[bound feet]] and their [[lotus shoes]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Attitude and Altitude: A Short History of Shoes|url=http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/07/attitude-altitude-short-history-shoes/|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Blog – Facts Matter|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc|access-date=3 June 2012|last1=Mancoff|first1=Debra|last2=Raz-Russo|first2=Michal|date=26 July 2011|archive-date=28 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228192730/http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/07/attitude-altitude-short-history-shoes/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Modern===
Platform shoes enjoyed some popularity in the United States, Europe and the UK from the 1930s to the 1950s but not nearly to the extent of their popularity from the 1960s to the 1980s.

====20th century====
===== 1930s–1950s =====
[[File:Sapato Usado no Show no London Palladium e Las Vegas.jpg|thumb|[[Carmen Miranda]] was key in popularizing platform shoes in the 1940s.<ref>Shaw, Lisa. [https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/aug/05/carmen-mirandas-fashion-turbans-platform-shoes-and-a-lot-of-controversy Carmen Miranda's fashion: Turbans, platform shoes and a lot of controversy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409012617/https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/aug/05/carmen-mirandas-fashion-turbans-platform-shoes-and-a-lot-of-controversy |date=9 April 2023 }}. ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref>]]
In the early 1930s, Moshe (Morris) Kimel designed the first modern version of the platform shoe for actress Marlene Dietrich. Kimel, a Jew, escaped Berlin, Germany, and settled in the United States with his family in 1939 and opened the Kimel shoe factory in Los Angeles. The design soon became very popular amongst Beverly Hills elite.
In 1938, The Rainbow was a platform sandal designed by famous shoe designer [[Salvatore Ferragamo]]. “The Rainbow” was created and was the first instance of the platform shoe returning in modern days in the West.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} The platform sandal was designed for [[Judy Garland]], an American singer, actress, and [[vaudevillian]]. This shoe was a tribute to Judy Garland's signature song “Over the Rainbow” performed in the [[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|Wizard of Oz]] in 1939. The shoe was crafted using uniquely shaped slabs of cork that were covered in suede to build up the wedge and gold [[kidskin]] was used for the straps.<ref>{{cite web|title=Salvatore Ferragamo {{!}} Sandals {{!}} Italian |website=The Met|accessdate=April 26, 2016|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/82443 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610022002/http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/82443 |archive-date=10 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> His creation was a result of experimentations with new materials because of wartime rationing during [[World War II]].{{citation needed|reason=The war didn’t involve the U.S. until 1942|date=August 2018}} Traditionally heels were built up with leather, but because of the rationing of leather, he experimented with wood and cork <ref>DeMello, M. (2009). Feet and footwear: A cultural encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO.</ref> The colors and design of this shoe still resemble modern shoe standards today.

In the 1940s, platforms were designed with a high arch, but as exemplified here, they originated with the heel elevated only slightly above the toes. The platform brings a heavy looking foundation to the wearer that is in direct polarity to the [[stiletto]] heel. With its reconfiguration of the arch and structure of attenuated insubstantiality, the high heel suggests the anti-gravitational effect of the dancer ''en pointe''. On the contrary, the platform displays weightiness more like the flat steps of modern dance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Attitude and Altitude: A Short History of Shoes |website=Britannica Blog|access-date=April 26, 2016|url=http://blogs.britannica.com/2011/07/attitude-altitude-short-history-shoes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925201340/http://blogs.britannica.com/2011/07/attitude-altitude-short-history-shoes/ |archive-date=25 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 1950s, platform shoes were not favored in the same way that they used to be. Fashion returned to the more elegantly shaped shoe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.queensofvintage.com/a-brief-history-platform-shoe/ |title=A brief history of the platform shoe |website=www.queensofvintage.com |access-date=8 April 2018 |url-status=live |archive-date=9 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409043946/http://www.queensofvintage.com/a-brief-history-platform-shoe/}}</ref>

===== 1960s and 1970s =====
A resurgence of interest in platform shoes in fashion began as early as 1967 (appearing in both advertisements and articles in 1970 issues of [[Seventeen (American magazine)|''Seventeen'' magazine]]), and continued through to 1976 in Europe and Britain, when they suddenly went out of fashion. The fad lasted even further in the US, lasting until as late as the early 1980s. At the beginning of the fad, they were worn primarily by young women in their teens and twenties, and occasionally by younger girls, older women, and (particularly during the [[disco]] era) by young men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wardrobecostume.co.uk/cat.asp?pageid=8&subid=155&contentid=836 |title=Footwear - costumes to hire & buy. Fabrics & trims, hats & masks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829195733/http://www.wardrobecostume.co.uk/cat.asp?pageid=8&subid=155&contentid=836 |archive-date=29 August 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/platform-shoe-history|title=The History Of The Platform Shoe- 70s, 90s, And Today|website=www.refinery29.com|access-date=9 January 2019|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062801/https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/platform-shoe-history|url-status=live}}</ref> Platform shoes were considered the "party shoe."<ref name="startupfashion.com">{{cite web|url=https://startupfashion.com/fashion-archives-history-of-platform-shoes/|title=Fashion Archives: A Look at the History of Platform Shoes|date=3 October 2015|access-date=17 April 2018|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417192113/https://startupfashion.com/fashion-archives-history-of-platform-shoes/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2018}} Disco-goers used their shoes to bring attention to themselves on the dance floor.<ref name="startupfashion.com"/>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2018}} 70s platform shoes were presented in dramatic and showy ways such as with glitter or tiny lights.<ref name="startupfashion.com"/>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2018}}

In 1972, at 219 Bowery in Manhattan, Carole Basetta developed a special mold for making platform shoes and was successful in selling custom-made shoes to people such as [[David Bowie]], [[David Johansen]] of the New York Dolls, and several other punk artists.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wardrobecostume.co.uk/cat.asp?pageid=8&subid=155&contentid=836 |title=Footwear |access-date=16 March 2008 |archive-date=29 August 2010 |quote=Picture of a classic 1970s men's platform shoe for going out dancing at a disco from an Internet wardrobe costume rental site.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829195733/http://www.wardrobecostume.co.uk/cat.asp?pageid=8&subid=155&contentid=836 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although platform shoes did provide added height without the discomfort of spike heels, they seem to have been worn primarily for the sake of attracting attention.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}} Many [[glam rock]] musicians wore platform shoes as part of their act.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}} Bowie, an icon of glam rock and androgynous fashion in the 1970s, famously wore platform shoes while performing as his alter ego [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/fashion-androgynous-icons-annie-lennox-prince-david-bowie|title=Fashion's Most Powerful Androgynous Icons|last=Singer|first=Olivia|website=www.vogue.co.uk|date=30 August 2017|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105615/http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/fashion-androgynous-icons-annie-lennox-prince-david-bowie|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/david-bowie-our-style-hero|title=David Bowie: Our Style Hero|last=Hobbs|first=Julia|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105837/http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/david-bowie-our-style-hero|url-status=live}}</ref>

While a wide variety of styles were popular during this period, including boots, [[espadrilles]], [[oxford shoe|oxfords]], [[Sneaker (footwear)|sneakers]], and [[Sandal (footwear)|sandals]] of all description, with soles made of wood, [[cork (material)|cork]], or synthetic materials, the most popular style of the late 1960s and early 1970s was a simple quarter-strap sandal with tan [[domestic buffalo|water buffalo]]-hide straps, on a beige suede-wrapped cork wedge-heel platform sole. These were originally introduced under the brand name Kork-Ease but the extreme popularity supported many imitators. Remarkably, there was very little variation in style, and most of that variation was limited to differences in height.

===== 1980s =====
As the fad progressed, manufacturers like Candie's stretched the envelope of what was considered too outrageous to wear, while others, like [[Famolare]] and [[Cherokee (disambiguation)|Cherokee of California]], introduced "comfort" platforms, designed to combine the added height of platforms with the support and comfort of sneakers, or even orthopedic shoes, and by the time the fad finally fizzled in the late 1980s, girls and women of all ages were wearing them. It may also be a by-product of this fad that [[Scandinavia]]n [[clogs]], which were considered rather outrageous in the late 1960s and early 1970s, had become classic by the 1980s.

===== 1990s =====
[[Vivienne Westwood]], the UK fashion designer, re-introduced the high heeled platform shoe into high fashion in the early [[1990s fashion|1990s]]; it was while wearing a pair of Super-Elevated Gillie with five-inch platforms and nine-inch heels that the supermodel [[Naomi Campbell]] fell on the catwalk at a fashion show.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-13717955 |title=BBC News – Vivienne Westwood shoe exhibition at Bowes Museum |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=10 June 2011 |access-date=2012-02-13 |archive-date=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110140623/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-13717955 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, they did not catch on quickly and platform shoes only began to resurface in mainstream fashion in the late 1990s, thanks in part to the UK singing group the [[Spice Girls]]. The all-girl group was often seen in tall platform sneakers and boots. The footwear brand Buffalo created the famous platform sneakers worn by members of the group.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/top-20-most-iconic-shoes|title=Most Iconic Shoes|last=Alexander|first=Ella|website=www.vogue.co.uk|date=13 July 2012|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105851/http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/top-20-most-iconic-shoes|url-status=live}}</ref>

The United Kingdom (and European) experience of platform shoes was somewhat different from that of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alanheels.blogspot.it/2012_02_01_archive.html?m=1|title=The World High Heels|author=Nicholas Kirkwood|date=1 February 2012|access-date=2012-02-29|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305233818/http://alanheels.blogspot.it/2012_02_01_archive.html?m=1|url-status=live}}</ref> The long, pointed shoes of the early 2000s, giving an elongated look to the foot, have been more popular in the US than in the UK.{{sayswho?|date=March 2021}}

====21st century====
===== 2000s =====
The platform shoe resurfaced in popularity in the early 2000s when the YSL Tribute Sandal appeared in 2004, quickly gaining popularity by celebrities and the fashion world for its sex appeal and added comfort of a platform sole.<ref name=":0" /> The shoe is continued to be released season after season, despite changes in creative directors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/10/power-platform-high-heel-shoe|title=The rise of the power platform|last=Cartner-Morley|first=Jess|date=2011-05-10|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175423/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/10/power-platform-high-heel-shoe|url-status=live}}</ref>

===== 2010s =====
During the late [[2010s fashion|2010s]], platform boots became fashionable due to a [[1970s nostalgia|resurgence of interest]] in [[1970s fashion]]. These included so-called "nothing shoes" with clear [[Perspex]] soles, and [[mule sandal]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/accessories/bags-shoes-jewelry/seventeen-best-mules-shoes|title=Make Room in Your Closet for the Barbie Mule|first=Justine|last=Carreon|date=23 March 2017|website=ELLE|access-date=9 January 2019|archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104035913/http://www.elle.com/accessories/bags-shoes-jewelry/seventeen-best-mules-shoes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/nothing-shoe-trend-summer|title=Right Now, the Chicest Thing Is a Nothing Shoe|website=Vogue|date=9 June 2016|access-date=9 January 2019|archive-date=21 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421043346/https://www.vogue.com/article/nothing-shoe-trend-summer|url-status=live}}</ref>