A device for detecting shapes, in particular models of footwear, in which a device for angular displacement (6, 12, 13) sets a shape (2) in rotation about an axis of rotation (10), and a viewing device (15) detects the three-dimensional co-ordinates P(z,c,p) of a plurality of points (P 1 , P 2 , ..., P i , ..., P n ), which belong to a plurality of parallel profiles P p lying on respective different planes K p . The device calculates the spacing between adjacent planes (K p i and K p i+1 ) according to the characteristics of inclination of the surface (S) of the model (2) with respect to the axis of rotation.