The illegal shoe of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos

TheRocks are terribly predictable … they all collect housing, jewelry, artwork, yachts or cars. But Imelda Marcos would not have stayed in line. Ferdinand Marcos’ wife (1917-1989) and very energetic right-hand man, the man who enforced the ironclad regime in the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, is remembered for her impressive collection of shoes. An obsession to match this eccentric woman, supposedly a jet-setter and a formidable skill.

When she was ousted from power with her husband in February 1986, the first lady left behind nearly 2,000 pairs of gloves, 1,000 bras (including one bulletproof), 508 maxi dresses, 808 bags, and 71 pairs of sunglasses. But the focus is mostly on its range of pumps. According to the new force in force in Manila, the “Marie Antoinette of the Tropics” would have amassed 3,000 pairs, including a large number of models signed by Dior, Gucci or Charles Jordan. Among the inventory are transparent-heeled shoes with flashing lights – a technical feat, at the time – that she wore during parties in New York, at the Philippine Consulate.

A figure disputed by the institution responsible for managing the palace’s condos, which house only 1,060 pairs, which the interested party confirmed quite naturally after its return from exile in 1991. An essential cog in the system, this former Miss Manila from a country advanced by a low-bourgeois family level to justify her buying frenzy with her troubled childhood.

Ten billion dollars embezzled

Legend has it that, not being able to participate in a beauty pageant, due to not being able to buy shoes, she would have sworn to get rich to buy all the shoes she loved. More broadly, his penchant for luxury goods was dictated by the obligations associated with his job. “When I became the first lady, I had to dress for the age of thirty-one and be more beautiful, because the poor wanted to see the stars”, Explained in a documentary called king makerreleased in 2019.

Highlighting his obsession with heterosexual chalcophilia has never been so frowned upon as the Iron Butterfly, who is now 93. What does this fad weigh in light of the $10 billion embezzled over two decades by a married couple who, among other things, fraudulently got their hands on 170 paintings of masters, including Picassos, Michelangelo, Bruegel, Rubens, Monet, and Cézanne?

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