At Maison Vivier, Roger Vivier’s recently opened Paris atelier and archive, housed in a Saint-Germain-des-Prés hôtel particulier, a black patent pump with a large rectangular buckle takes pride of place. Behind its glass case, a wall of black-and-white photographs showcases more Belle Viviers—the maison’s most emblematic shoe—worn by 1960s fashion icons. Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn stroll city streets in shift dresses, while Sophia Loren faces the paparazzi in a leopard-print coat. “But nothing compares to Catherine Deneuve walking up the stairs in Belle de Jour while the camera lingers on her feet,” says creative director Gherardo Felloni, referring to a memorable scene from Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film, in which a doctor’s wife ascends grand, Haussmannian wrought-iron steps toward her secret life in a brothel. Immaculate in an Yves Saint Laurent double-breasted coat, pillbox hat, and gloves, only her glossy Belle Viviers are visible, each tentative step a quiet negotiation between propriety and desire.
Before its close-up, the Belle Vivier had already made fashion history. After a decade crafting innovative heels at Christian Dior, Vivier brought couture precision—and a playful subversion of tradition—to his own line in 1963, as well as to prolific runway collaborations. The low-heeled buckle pump debuted on the Yves Saint Laurent fall 1965 runway, paired with the infamous Mondrian dress that shocked the fashion world with its stark minimalist geometry. Cut from inky patent leather, with a slanted Skyscraper heel and a sculptural buckle as its only adornment, the shoe felt just as strikingly modern. Inspired by 18th-century men’s court shoes worn at Versailles, it was dubbed the Pilgrim-buckle shoe by the American press and later renamed the Belle Vivier after Deneuve’s starmaking turn in Belle de Jour. Polished yet flirting with provocation, the pump sold tens of thousands of pairs, establishing it as one of the first true It accessories.
Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour
The Mondrian Dress with Belle Vivier shoes on the runway at the Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture showspring 2002.
Six decades later, the Belle Vivier is worn by stars such as Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez, and Lola Tung, its sharp, angular lines ensuring it hasn’t lost its edge. At the Maison Vivier opening cocktail during Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, the now 81-year-old Deneuve looked effortlessly cool, pairing Belle Viviers just like the ones she wore in Belle de Jour with a plaid shirt, wide-leg trousers, and a long trench. Inès de la Fressange, the house’s longtime brand ambassador who curated the archival displays, recounts a moment that illustrates the shoe’s enduring appeal. “I have the proof,” she says, pausing and smiling. “Once a woman arrived at our Paris store wearing a black sweater, black pants, and these awful loafers. She tried on Belle Viviers and instantly looked 300% better. Good accessories give you style by adding a ‘twist.’”
Since joining the maison in 2018, Felloni has pushed the Belle Vivier’s silhouette and fabrication; this fall, he designed pony-effect animal print slingbacks and soft nappa leather booties. For spring 2026, he will unveil the Belle Vivier 60 collection, a range of richly embellished pumps, slingbacks, and ballet flats celebrating the maison’s iconic shoe on its 60th anniversary. “I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done yet on this shape by applying the couture techniques Roger Vivier brought from his millinery work,” Felloni says. The collection infuses the Belle Vivier’s streamlined form with the theatricality of Vivier’s 1940s hat designs and Felloni’s own love of jewelry. Standouts include the Pizzo, a black lace-and-satin pump adorned with black jet and glass elements, and the Prato, a pink satin pump encrusted with green and pink sequins evoking a garden in bloom. “You can wear it with jeans and a T-shirt,” says Felloni, proving that beneath its elegant exterior, the Belle Vivier retains a mischievous spirit.
