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Not
Just for Foot Fetishists
The
Bata Shoe Museum
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| The
days when one could judge a gentleman or a lady by a quick glance
at their feet may be long gone, but shoes still have plenty
to say about status - and, by extension, the human condition.If
you don't believe me, you haven't been to The Bata Shoe Museum
in Toronto. |
The study of the shoe, far from being frivolous, is a heady
mix of sociology, anthropology, and fashion. Shoes hold
a unique place in our hearts: Why else would we carefully
save wedding slippers or bronze baby's first booties? Why
would so many women collect shoes as if they're going out
of style? (Well, they often do, but that's not the point.)
You may only be able to wear one pair at a time, but it's
imperative to have the right pair for the occasion. Would
you wear sneakers to a gala evening at the opera, or conversely,
high heels to a baseball game? And what would it say about
you to others if you did?
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Imelda
Marcos' black slingbacks
with rhinestone vamps
(1987-1992, Phillipines)
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| Philosopher
of Shoes |
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These questions - and others you may never have thought to
ask - are answered by the Bata Shoe Museum, which houses Sonja
Bata's collection of more than 10,000 trotter-related artifacts.
Since the Bata opened in mid-1995, it has attracted 100,000
visitors a year to ponder more than 4,500 years of kicker
covers. Ms. Bata, 73, is a former architecture student who
married into one of Canada's foremost shoe-manufacturing families.
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Toda Feet anklets as exhibited in Paduka Feet and Footwear in the Indian Tradition, Silver, Gujarat, 20th a.d.
John Bigelow-Taylor |
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As she helped promote the business in her travels, she became
fascinated by shoes and, it could be said, became a philosopher
of them. As Ms. Bata revealed to "Smithsonian" magazine, "Footwear
tells the whole human story ... from the animal hides that
prehistoric cave dwellers wrapped around their feet to the
high-tech boots worn by astronauts."
The Bata
takes pride in how its collection and exhibits highlight subtle
shifts in a society's attitudes and values. For instance, one
show planned for late 2000 will be devoted to the arcane and
painful practice of Chinese foot binding. Clearly, the Far East
does not stand alone in its focus on the foot: according to
psychologists, the shoe and what it contains are the most common
sources of sexual fetishism in Western society.
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| Butchers
in High Heels |
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From the early days of shoes - prehistoric man and woman's
crudely-stitched skins - footwear quickly evolved into signifiers
of one's position in the world. Monks wore simple sandals
to indicate that they chose to forego worldly luxuries; ancient
Egyptian butcher wore heels to raise their feet above the
carnage. One can get a pretty good idea of how the 16th century
Venetians sorted out social status by the forerunner to the
platform, the outrageously high 'chopine.' These babies elevated
the wearer by up to 30 inches, basically requiring the attentions
of maidservants to keep the swaying lady from toppling headfirst
into the lasagna.
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Sketo,
skate with single iron blade as exhibited in Japanese Footgear:
Walking the Path of Innovation
The Bata Shoe Museum |
On the other foot, we have "juttis" - an Urdu
word used in India as a generic term for "shoe" - which generally
refers to a slipper-like closed upper attached to a sole.
Worn by both men and women, juttis can be utterly plain or
embellished with pearls, embroidery, sequins, and textiles
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Going from an all-purpose shoe like this to the incredibly specific,
the Bata also has a pair of French chestnut-crushing boots (surely
on Martha Stewart's wish list) and slippers worn by aboriginal
Australian executioners, decorated with human hair - most likely
for totemic purposes. (Sideways glance, just keep moving.)
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Leather and reptile stiletto pump, 1959 as exhibited in Herbert
and Beth Levine: An American Pair.
Herbert and Beth Levine |
| Marilyn
Monroe's Sexy Secrets |
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The real crowd-pleasers, of course, are the celebrity shoes
that rotate in and out of display. Queen Victoria's satin flats
with their matching silk stockings and kid gloves are currently
tucked away for conservation purposes, but will be brought out
with appropriate pomp for her birthday on May 24th. One may
still gaze in awe upon a pair of low heels once worn by Diana,
Princess of Wales. |
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John
Lennon's black leather Chelsea boot
(1962, England)
The Bata Shoe Museum |
Pop royalty worshippers are also catered to, with just one of
John Lennon's Beatle boots - anyone wondering whether this was
snatched off the late musician's foot during that band's heyday
can rest assured that the other is safely in storage. Then there's
a pair of blue and white patent (not suede) loafers from one
of Lennon's early inspirations, Elvis Presley, also currently
in storage, as well as a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sequined platforms
custom-made for Madonna. |
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Speaking of platforms, here's a pair that
once belonged to the Artist Formerly Known as Ginger Spice,
which
the singer auctioned off at Sotheby's in August 1998 to benefit
a UK children's cancer society.
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Geri
Halliwell's (Ginger Spice) black leather boots with Union
Jack appliqué, by Buffalo, 1997.
The Bata Shoe Museum |
| Fans of
the immortal Marilyn Monroe will sigh over her size 71/2 red
pumps, part of the current Beth & Herbert Levine exhibit.
(The Levine zebra mules seen here look surprisingly contemporary,
but in fact date back to 1965.) If you can't make it to the museum
before the Levine show closes in summer 2000, fret not: the
screen goddess's heels are part of the Bata's permanent collection.
An interesting footnote: Melanie Coates, the museum's press
officer, confirmed that Monroe used to shave a quarter-inch
off one of her high heels to obtain her famously wiggly gait.
For some reason, though, this particular pair escaped intact.
Any woman who feels guilty about her own shoe indulgences will
feel assuaged by representatives from the collection of that
Greatest Shoe Monster of All Time - Imelda Marcos. For what
assembly of famous footwear would be complete without a pair
of dragon lady heels? |
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The Bata Shoe Museum is not just for vainglorious bipeds that
worship at the shrines of Manolo Blahnick and Charles Jourdan.
Following in the footsteps of human history is an entertaining
and painlessly educational way to spend a morning or afternoon
- and you'll definitely never look at extremities the same
way again
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Zebra
clog, haired calf and teakwood, 1967 as exhibited in Herbert
and Beth Levine: An American Pair
Beth Levine |
by
Rhonda Markowitz |
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