Gabrielle Chanel created her two-tone pump in 1957. According to the house, each colour has a job: the beige leather lengthens the leg, and the black toe cap makes the foot look smaller. The Paris shoemaker Massaro added an elastic strap around the heel for comfort, which Chanel's history calls a revolution.
The shoe arrived three years after Chanel reopened her couture house in 1954, and it became the natural partner of her trimmed tweed suit. A 1964 photograph shows the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, surrounded by Chanel models, wearing a suit with the two-tone pumps.
Massaro remained the house's shoemaker. In 2002 Chanel's subsidiary Paraffection bought the Massaro shoemaking house, along with the embroiderer Lesage, to preserve the specialist crafts behind its collections. The slingback is still produced in many heel heights and materials.