Botanical inspiration for new Bata show
A newly opened exhibition at Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, “In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear”, explores how the natural world has offered shoemakers “a source of meaning and material” over the centuries.
Founded in 1979 by Sonja Bata, a passionate footwear collector who became a member of the family behind Bata Shoes following her marriage in 1946, the museum’s permanent collection today houses in excess of 13,000 objects, some of which date back to 4,500 years ago. Mrs Bata passed away in early 2018.
Highlights from the show include a pair of naturally dyed, “flower pot” pedestal platform shoes with an all-over cherry blossom motif from the time of China’s last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing, in addition to a pair of French or North American grass-woven espadrilles from the second world war period, when manufacturers were forced to turn away from materials like leather and rubber due to government-imposed restrictions.
The exhibition is currently due to run until October 6, 2024.
Image: Bata Shoe Museum.
