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Courtesans soon adopted them as a status symbol, wearing extra-high chopines, or platforms, to tower above other court members in a symbolic show of sexual dominance.

That supposedly inspired the chopine of 16th-century Venice, and one delicately embroidered pair from that era shown in the book could still attract attention at a party today.

Dolce & Gabbana showed velvet Mary Janes perched on mosaic wedges nearly as high as the chopines worn by 16th-century Venetian courtesans to protect their elaborate gowns from the filth of the streets.

Both sets of women wore the sky-high chopines, or platform shoes, in which they were expected to walk and even dance.

In Italy, prominent women wore 20-inch-tall chopines, while in France and England, the fad was for long pointy-toed shoes called poulaines.