Beth Levine might not be familiar to many today, but her impact on the shoe industry remains unmatched. With the Herbert Levine brand revival in full swing, the designer’s creations still loom large.
Levine, who died in 2006, worked alongside her husband Herbert Levine. They cofounded Herbert Levine Inc. in 1948, and grew it into an influential New York label.
Beth Levine is credited with groundbreaking innovations, including the clear plastic heel and the stretch boot with no zipper. One of her many iconic, kitschy creations was a grass-lined sandal from 1966 aptly called “Barefoot in the Grass.”
Levine also gave the stiletto a longer lifespan by reinforcing the bottom half of the ultrathin heels with steel, ensuring they wouldn’t snap. She elevated the popularity of mules with her invention of the Spring-o-Lator — a strip of elastic designed to keep the spring and summer favorite in place and the stocking shoe — reimagined in the couture in recent years.
(R-L) The stretch boot and all-in-one stocking boot on display at the Costume Institute’s exhibition honoring Herbert Levine and Beth Levine in 1976.
Tony Palmieri/Fairchild Archive
The Levines were closely connected to the fashion industry, becoming one of the first shoe brands to collaborate with noted American fashion designers. Her shoes graced the runway and retail stores under designer labels of the era, inclusive of Geoffrey Beene, Halston, Anne Klein, Bill Blass and later Azzedine Alaia.
Levine’s celebrity clientele included many A-list names across politics and entertainment. Nancy Sinatra famously sported those white go-go boots — designed by Levine — in her timeless performance of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Her other legendary clients included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lady Bird Johnson, Cher, and Barbara Streisand. She also created a pair of red crystal pumps for Liza Minnelli’s wedding day.
Nancy Sinatra in Los Angeles, ca. 1970s and white go-go boots on display at Barney’s in 1996.
Fairchild Archive/WWD
In 1967, her trailblazing contributions to the fashion world earned her a Coty Award.
The Levines closed their business in 1975 because of pressure to lower quality and prices, according to her daughter Anna Thomson-Wilson. After they closed the business, Levine stayed busy attending fashion shows and giving advice to designers about their collections. Bill Blass designer Michael Vollbracht was one of her closest friends, and she was also close to Azzedine Alaïa, for whom she designed several shoes over the years.
“She was one of the most important people working in shoes,” Alaïa told WWD in 2006, when Levine passed away. “Her shoes were highly imaginative, strong and modern. She was very intelligent.”