Harrods' Shoe Heaven: A celestial experience with Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin

A visit to Harrods’ celestial new shoe department will leave you walking on air, says Stephanie Hirschmiller

Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, London SW1

Notwithstanding the dedicated express elevator – the interior of which is wall-to-wall clouds – the newly installed Shoe Heaven at Harrods is not your traditional celestial experience. But for devotees who think of Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin as the real Holy Trinity, a trip to the store’s new shoe floor will have them in raptures.

Encompassing a sprawling 42,000 square feet, there are over 50 brands, many showcased in their own custom-built spaces. Continuing the theme of heavenly bodies, 37 designers have added a special touch of silver to their designs for the exclusive Silver Lining collection. Designers involved include Valentino, Prada, Alaia and Dior, with pieces ranging from full-on futurism to a more delicate silvery sheen.

Two years in the making, Shoe Heaven has been created by the David Collins Studio and was the last project on which the designer worked before he died last year, bringing his art deco aesthetic to corridors of geometric marble tiles and domed rotundas.

There are 17 bespoke boutiques, many of which have adjacent suites so that VIPs can keep their tootsies hidden away from prying eyes, which echo the design signature of each brand. Christian Louboutin has a red carpet to match those soles while Stuart Weitzman commissioned Zaha Hadid to create a surrealist installation using a boat-making technique in which fibreglass is dipped in rose gold.

Those with less lofty aspirations aren’t excluded from the fabulous fold, as Kurt Geiger’s mainline, KG and Carvela brands provide slightly more down-to-earth options, too.