Go-Go Gone - A Tribute to Beth Levine, 1914-2006

Every family has its cute kid tales and mine is no different. My favorite to tell and hear told is of the night I, at the age of 3, serenaded my parent’s friends with my rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made For Walking,” complete with my own mid-70’s version of Nancy’s white Go-Go boots. So it was with a heavy heart that I learned of the passing last month of the designer responsible for the boots made for walking – Beth Levine.

While in Toronto this past week, I was reminded again of what an incredibly innovative and whimsical designer Beth Levine was, along with her husband Herbert Levine, under whose eponymous line Beth created such miracles as the “Spring-O-Later” mule and the Astroturf sandal.

The Bata Museum’s “Icons of Elegance” exhibition, on display until January 8, 2007, features the Levine’s creations, along with other significant contributions to the world of shoe by André Perugia, Rogier Vivier, and too many others to name here. Among Beth’s most important innovations was the use of “modern” materials such as spandex and vinyl as well as other materials, like folded paper, which challenged accepted standards for what you could do with a shoe. And before Maison Martin Margiela sent models walking down the runway in “topless” shoes (heels and soles with adhesive sock linings), the Levines were doing it in the 1960s. Among one of my personal favorites is the Race Car shoe from 1966, which featured a clear vinyl “windshield” over the instep.

Besides my cocktail party interlude, my first professional introduction to Beth Levine’s creations was in a small collection at my undergraduate university. While cataloguing the collection of theatrical costume, I came across a pair of “Panty-boots” – opaque spandex panty hose built around a stack heel sole. I was entranced by the thought of someone wearing this ingenious marriage between shoe and leg covering – what role were these designed for, Wonder Woman? Super Girl? When I discovered the Herbert Levine label inside, I realized that these were never meant to shod a comic book superhero – these were the boots for a real Super Woman, the product of the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Sexual Revolution, and the Equal Rights Amendment all rolled into one.

Beth Levine died September 20, 2006 of lung cancer. She is survived by her daughter and an amazing legacy of design innovation.