Join us for our annual Founder`s Lecture this year on Tuesday, November 5 as we welcome designer, educator, and trailblazer Dr. D’Wayne Edwards as our special guest speaker. Our Director and Senior Curator @elizabethsemmelhack and Edwards will explore the convergence of culture, dress, and society through the lens of sneakers. Purchase your tickets on our website. ...

Join the Bata Shoe Museum and Innocence Canada (@innocencecanada) for an honest, and impactful look at wrongful convictions in Canada on Sunday, October 20 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This panel talk will look at wrongful convictions through the experiences of those who have lived through it, and those who have made a significant impact through their efforts to help clear the names of the victims of wrongful incarceration. RSVP by visiting our website. ...

The soft felt soles of these Parisian cat-burglar’s, or cambrioleur’s, overshoes were designed to slip over a thief’s street shoes in order to muffle their steps, making them
as silent as a cat. Once the break and enter was completed, the cat-burglar could slip the overshoes off and appear in pedestrian attire with their footsteps once again adding to the noise of the street.


Cat-burglar overshoes, French, 1900–1920

Collection of the Paris Police Museum, on view in "Exhibit A: Investigating Crime and Footwear" ...

Recycling is a mainstay of sustainability and sneaker manufacturers are increasingly finding ways to reuse materials that they previously might have discarded. F_WD, pronounced forward, was founded by Onward Luxury Group in 2019 as a streetwear brand dedicated to sleek sustainability. Its first collections were created by shoe designer Raphael Young whose futuristic designs were vegan, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) approved and made of recycled and recyclable materials.

Photo: Kailee Mandel ...

The end of the 18th century saw the rise of Neoclassical restraint in design and an increase in social unrest foretelling the French Revolution. Encouraged to make more modest fashion statements, the privileged shifted away from the exuberant brocades used earlier in the century and embraced a more subdued palette of plain silks or printed leathers. Shoes with leather applique such as this pair were termed sandals and the applique was meant to suggest sandal straps. ...

There are over 10,000 species of grass, and many cultures have traditionally used it to make socks and footwear. Grass is abundant, insulating and moisture wicking, and it can be woven into a wide range of shapes.



Along the southern coast of Alaska, Yup’ik and Unangan women historically made grass socks to be worn as liners in sealskin boots. Moss or fur was first placed in the sole of the boot for warmth. Grass socks added another protective and breathable layer. This Unangan pair was made by splitting and twining grass.


Unangan, 1910.


On view on in our exhibition "In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear". ...

New Romantic fashion and music started in the British club scene in London and Birmingham in the late 1970s and very early 1980s, partly as a reaction to the hard grittiness of punk. The New Romantic look was often androgynous, with men and women experimenting with makeup, billowy blouses, and Regency or pirate-inspired silhouettes. Bands such as Bow Wow Wow, Adam and the Ants, and Culture Club popularized the look. A Women’s Wear Daily article from 1982 described the pirate and New Romantic look as one of “a few recent looks created and launched on British soil, then catapulted into the mainstream [which] translated into big money abroad.” Vivienne Westwood’s Pirate Collection was central to the development of the New Romantic look. Her squiggly print pirate boots eventually became an item of mainstream fashion and have been in production is some iteration since they were first released in 1982.

On view in our Dressed to Impress exhibition. Sponsored by: @boom973toronto @thetorontostar @designlinesmagazine @thekitca @azuremagazine ...