Today I discovered the website of the Bata Shoe Museum in Ontario, Canada, which features hundreds of shoes from around the world. This amazing museum celebrates the style and function of footwear in four galleries.
The All About Shoes semi-permanent exhibition spans more than 4,500 years of history and 20th-century celebrity shoes. This collection covers Chinese bound foot shoes, ancient Egyptian sandals, chestnut-crushing clogs, glamourous platforms and more. The three other exhibitions are constantly changing, so there’s always something new to see.
What fascinates me most about this museum is their International Shoe Design Competition 2007, in which young talent from every part of the world submitted their shoe designs to showcase their creativity. View the 20 top designs. Which is your favorite? Here are the two that really caught my eye:
Titled “Caught in the Flesh Trade”, this design, created by Meena Rajaskekarian of New Delhi, India, is inspired by women trapped in the flesh trade. The form of a woman is easy to make out, and the straps resemble barbed wire, symbolizing her predicament. This is a shocking yet elegant shoe meant to start conversation. I wouldn’t want to wear it, but isn’t it a beautiful and tragic design?
This design was created by Naoko Imon of Tokyo, Japan. It is inspired by unique shapes and colors of Japan, including the paper fan (ogi). The scarlet color is reminiscent of a flaming sunset or autumn leaves. The heel resembles the image of the folding ogi’s surface with straight folds. The wooden lacquer work of the instep and heel sections have Japanese-style designs on their backsides seen only when the sandal is removed. I would love to wear this beautiful shoe because it is gorgeous and has so much meaning behind it.
The Bata Shoe Museum has online exhibitions that you can view right now:
