If Louis XIV has taught us anything, it is that lavish amounts of luscious silks, big dresses and red-soled shoes equal wealth and power. This is as true today as it was in the 17th-century French court: all three will be much in evidence on the red carpet at the forthcoming Oscars – and they will indeed represent wealth and power. But power structures have changed somewhat in the past 400 years: what they will not represent are the wardrobes of the actors wearing them.
Louis XIV sporting his signature red heels.
