The Victoria & Albert Museum's newest gallery, the Rapid Response Collecting Room, is a far cry from the vaulted ceilings and marble statues of the museum's most famous exhibition halls. Tucked away in a modest gallery on the third floor, its purpose is to showcase topical pieces of design as soon as possible after news stories break. From a 3D gun to six small chrome domes, better known as anti-homeless spikes, many of the items are unsettling. In one display case, though, glamour reigns, as five pairs of Christian Louboutin high heels sparkle under the spotlights.
This is Louboutin's "Les Nudes" collection, a range designed to match a variety of skin tones. Each shoe is clasped by the elegant fingers of a mannequin's arm, and each disembodied limb is painted the same colour as the shoe in its grip. According to the museum's curator of contemporary product design, Corinna Gardner, the collection can be seen to be highlighting issues that are "equally as important" as those raised by the grittier items in the gallery. "The shoes tell a global story," she says. "They signal change in the world economy and a change in where fashion consumers are located and who they are."
