The Noel Shoe Museum Gala celebrated and fundraised for the first and only footwear museum in the United States, set to open soon in New York.
On Thursday night, shoe lovers came together to celebrate Vanessa Noel for spearheading the Noel Shoe Museum at the second annual gala at a private New York club. The Noel Shoe Museum will be the first and only footwear museum in the United States, to be located in New York City. The Museum will explore the culture of humanity through the evolution of the shoe. With a permanent collection of over 3000 pairs of shoes going as far back as the 12th century, the collection will reflect the social, economic, technological, and fashion factors influence on footwear over the past centuries. With an emphasis on design, designers, history, and the manufacturing of footwear, the Museum is the perfect place to witness the best collaborations in fashion, design, and art.
Gala attendees enjoyed a night of cocktails, dinner, rounds of bingo, and dancing. The venue surprised guests with two incredible “living shoes” created by Italian artist Johannes Stoetter – human performers dressed only in body paint as they assumed the forms of stiletto heels. Shoes carved into pumpkins were the centerpieces on every table. On display were metallic gold Versace shoes from Danny Wegman (of the new Wegmans Grocery store in Astor Place), Hunt Slonem’s paint covered sneakers, Fern Mallis’ lime green Manolo Blahnik heels, H.R.H. Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia’s custom Vans, and many more. Following dinner, guests played five rounds of bingo for major prizes.
Many notable figures contributed to the museum, including Mayor Eric Adams. Presented by his brother, Bernard Adams, who shared that “[Mayor Adams’ shoes] aren’t sexy, but I can tell you one thing; these shoes have a lot of mileage because the man works hard. He really loves this city, and this museum.”
Besides Mayor Adams’ contribution, Chris “Handles” Franklin, former player and now coach of the Harlem Globetrotters, and current player Brawley “Cheese” Chisholm presented limited edition Reebok basketball sneakers. Mark Breland, former American amateur boxer and Olympic gold medalist, donated a pair of his boxing shoes.
Notable gala guests included Sharon and Bernard Adams, Teri Agins, Frederick Anderson, Keiko Ono Aoki, Michael Atmore, Jeffrey Banks, Tina Beriro, Cesare Bieller, CeCe and Lee Black, Sharon Bush, Liz and Gerry Byrne, Cassandra Cass, Lady Liliana Cavendish, David Patrick Columbia, Ruthie Davis, Mike Dean, Lauren Ezerzky, Pamela Fiori, Celso Gonzalez, Anthony Haden Guest, Nikki Haskell, Leila and Henry Heller, Omar Hernandez, Arthur Houghton, Dorothea de la Houssaye, Paris Hovnanian, Elizabeth Kabler, Roy Kean, Karen Klopp, Margo Langenberg, Alfred Lasher, Franck Laverdin, Maribel Lieberman, Denise de Luca, Pamela Morgan, Miranda Morrison, Roland Nivelais, Topper Quinn, Nicole Salmasi, Jean Shafiroff, Hunt Slonem, Tracy Snyder, Caroline St George, Benny Tabatabai, Joyce Varvatos, Robert Verdi, Christopher Walling and Shoe Museum Board Members Billie Bailkin, Susan Gutfreund, Hon. Carolyn Maloney, Joe Pacetti, Jackie Tucker, H.R.H. Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia.
Following bingo and dinner, guests were escorted by a fiddler down the street to OHLALA Supper Club for the afterparty.
The evening raised money and awareness for the construction of the Noel Shoe Museum. Find more information on their website.
