From Cinderella to Halitzah: Itay Betzaleli explores what our shoes say about us
The "Shoe Stories" exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem presents shoes not just as an item of clothing, but as a story of identity, nostalgia, and even faith. Stylist Itay Betzaleli met with three creators from the worlds of design, fashion, and collecting to understand our connection to the pair on our feet.
In collaboration with the Israel Museum.
What is our connection to shoes? How do we choose them, and what do they say about us? To answer these questions, we sent fashion designer and stylist Itay Betzaleli to the "Shoe Stories" exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem — an exhibition that explores design, fashion, and nostalgia through an essential item of clothing.
During the tour, Betzaleli met three prominent figures: collector Gil Panto, furniture designer Sarit Shani Hay, and men's shoe designer Idan Vanunu. Betzaleli challenged them to choose an item in the exhibition that relates to their field or tells an extraordinary story of a period or event.
Childhood shoes of the past: the collector's choice
The first stop took Betzaleli back to the Israeli reality of the austerity period with collector Gil Panto. "If we talk about Israeli nostalgia and the childhood of the past, we must talk about the experience of buying shoes," says Panto. "I am taking you back to the Israel of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. You bought a shoe at best once a year, usually for a holiday like Rosh Hashanah or Passover."
Panto describes a routine reality that sounds strange today: "If the foot grew too much, you didn't buy new shoes. So, you cut the tip of the shoe. The toes had room to come out, and children walked like that, not for fashion. It wasn't unusual; that was life. Everyone was like that. The children didn't feel it was strange."
The Halitzah shoe: the designer's choice
When Betzaleli turned to Idan Vanunu, a men's shoe designer and owner of the Fiocco nero brand, he asked him to choose a unique exhibit. Vanunu was drawn to an item with extraordinary historical-cultural significance.
"Out of all the shoes, I chose the Halitzah shoe," replied Vanunu. "This is a shoe used for the Halitzah ceremony. It is a ceremony where a woman, whose husband has passed away, faces his brother. They make one shoe, not a pair, just for the ceremony. She has to decide if she wants to marry him; if she doesn't, she takes off the shoe and spits on it."
When fairy tales come to life
Betzaleli concluded the journey in front of an extraordinary exhibit that looked as if it had come straight out of a fairy tale: a bed in the shape of a shoe, created by Sarit Shani Hay, a children's furniture designer. She chose to focus on the connection between shoes and the world of imagination.
"Shoes are something I am always mesmerized by," shares Shani Hay. "As a woman and a designer, I see the idea of fairy tales—from Cinderella's slippers and Dorothy's red shoes to the woman who lived in a shoe. It ignites the imagination; a shoe is belonging, identity, and a home."
Betzaleli was immediately enthusiastic: "I literally want to get inside this thing and sleep here. It is so beautiful, and I want one like this in my living room. Maybe you will make me one?"
Shani Hay laughed: "It is one of a kind, there is nothing like it."
"Okay, well, I will settle for seeing it," concluded Betzaleli with a smile.
The "Shoe Stories" exhibition is currently on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and offers a fascinating, thought-provoking look at one of the most personal objects in our lives. For more details about the exhibition, click here.
In collaboration with the Israel Museum.
