The Marikina Shoe Museum

Known as the ‘Iron Butterfly’, Imelda Marcos owned million-dollar properties, 175 pieces of priceless art and was famed for her shopping sprees across Europe. Her husband Ferdinand Marcos, former president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, is remembered for his corruption and brutality towards a population who were largely impoverished.

After the Marcos family fled the country, protestors stormed the presidential palace, Malacañang, where they found more than 1,000 pairs of shoes belonging to Imelda Macros, who later said, ‘They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes.’

Today, a large number of Marcos’ shoes are on display at The Marikina Shoe Museum in the Philippines.

The Marikina Shoe Museum today

Today, the Marikina Shoe museum holds around 750 pairs of Imelda Marcos’ shoes. Brands on display include Charles Jourdan, Christian Dior, Gucci and Oleg Cassini, as well as shoes Imelda wore by local designers, who reportedly delivered her ten pairs a week. The museum also displays shoes from other notable personalities, including politicians and movie stars.

In addition to celebrity shoes, there is a display about footwear through the ages, with highlights including the kind of shoes that icemen would have worn back in 3300 BC, Dutch clogs and sports shoes.

Getting to The Marikina Shoe Museum

From Manila, the museum is a 35 minute drive via Quezon Ave/R-7, or an hour and a half via bus.