Both the composition and the color of the images are stirringly beautiful, but they feel loaded with symbolism and sentiment: an emaciated man swaying with exhaustion during an interminable roll call appears to be experiencing a kind of transcendent ecstasy, like Joan of Arc on the pyre.

NEWYORKER: Fateless

But even if all the symbolism was not always immediately decipherable, the sheer scale of the pageantry and color of the event was dazzling in its splendor.

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Its potent symbolism and strange history give some insight into why it remains such an attractive color for shoe designers and why they are willing to battle in court over its use.

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