More footwear history for Style File Friday! The Bata Shoe Museum is truly a Canadian gem, and one of the most fascinating museums. No matter what the theme, they get to the heart of humanity (and fashion). Last week I shared some of my favourites from The Gold Standard exhibition. Nothing catches a magpie’s eye like gorgeous, golden footwear. And this week, I’m focusing on the other current major exhibition! Want at the Bata Shoe Museum is a deep dive on depression-era footwear and everything that comes with it. And there are some fairly surprising pieces in it. So, come along for my favourite pieces from Want at the Bata Shoe Museum!
Want at the Bata Shoe Museum
Want: Desire, Design, and Depression Era Footwear is one of the current Bata Shoe Museum exhibitions, and is open until 30 March 2020. When I think of the Depression and footwear, I think of worn-through shoes and newspaper slippers. However, I could not have been more wrong! According to the Museum,
On October 24, 1929, the United States stock market crashed ushering in a decade of darkness and turmoil. As global economies tumbled, want proliferated—want of employment, want of security, want of escape. The desires born from want drove an explosion of cultural creativity from film to fashion. Some sought to satiate the needs of the public, others sought to distract them from the troubling times, yet others hoped that by stoking desire and encouraging consumption the economy could be redeemed.
Some of the most innovative shoe designs in the history of Western fashion were created during this decade of want. Shoe designers Salvatore Ferragamo, Andre Pérugia, Steven Arpad and Roger Vivier played with the architecture of footwear creating uplifting platforms and wedges as well as futuristic novelty heels and revealing peep toes that reflected escapist Hollywood glamour as well as new conceptions of fashionable femininity.
The 1930s were a rich (pun intended!) and creative decade for footwear, and the Museum has so many amazing pairs to choose from. The Depression was much more than worn-out shoes. Bright, versatile, useful, unique, and bold are all perfect descriptors for this exhibition. They have absolutely nailed it with this exhibition, and I’m so happy I was able to catch it!
Gold Heels, 1930s
These heels are the opposite of what I think of when I hear Depression- the best way to open the exhibition! I could certainly see someone wearing these now, especially with the 1920s/Art Deco theme back in fashion. I hadn’t thought about their useful factor, though, which is key. According to the exhibition, “In the early 1930s, the popularity of gilded leather evening shoes soared. This might seem counter-intuitive given the dour economic outlook of the age but…Many advice columns from the early years of the Depression suggested that the only evening shoes any woman needed was a single pair of gold or sliver shoes because metallic footwear could be worn with ensembles of any colour.” And I have to say, it is rather practical advice. Yes, I’m sure that there were millions of people who were not in the least concerned with going out or being fashionable. But for some people, it remained a part of life. (And in economic uncertainty, you don’t want your image to affect your business at all.)
Aladdin Toe Shoes by André Perugia, 1927
I will admit, before this exhibition, I had no knowledge of André Perugia. An Italian footwear designer born in France, Perguia opened his first in 1909 in Paris. He would go on to work with such eminent designers as Paul Poiret and Hubert de Givenchy. And they truly are spectacular in to see in person. The 1930s, the idea of the “Others”, aka the East, was prominent. The splendour and opulent styles of China, India, and the Middle East influenced fashion, footwear and more. These shoes are a perfect example of this “Otherness”. “Perugia frequently infused his work with ‘exoticism’. This pair, with its problematically named ‘Aladdin’ toe and striking use of silver kid, black leather, and teal suede was… ahead of its time and inspired imitation in the 1930s.” (Exhibition Info) The toe shape seemed somewhat foreign to me; I’m not sure if it has been rather lost, or just not common in the type of shoes I normally look at. In any case, these are certainly quite different.
Mended Shoes, 1920s and 1930s
This was one of my favourite parts of the exhibition! I knew that the idea of mending and making do was especially important in the Depression, but seeing it in practice was fantastic. The middle pair of shoes, a French or Belgian pair of gold heels, held my interest. There is a small bottle of gold Cinderella shoe polish shows that the owner could have revived her shoes, in addition to the having the buckles re-attached. People often had their shoes re-soled and re-heeled, which can extend the life of a shoe considerably. And as you can see from the bottom black pair, they are quite well worn. Interestingly, they aren’t actually made of exotic skins but rather the pattern is woven into the leather. This could be an exhibition unto itself, given that we are all realising that we need to take better care of our shoes and clothing!
Salvatore Ferragamo Rainbow Platforms, 1938
Ahhhhh, the name that we all recognise- Ferragamo! I didn’t expect to see Ferragamos in Want, so it was a lovely suprise indeed. Ferragamo the designer built his career in the 1920s designing and creating footwear for Hollywood. As someone used to the more modern and dare I say classic designs, I loved seeing the older, historic shoes. “One of the most famous shoes of the 1930s was Ferragamo’s iconic Rainbow Platform that he designed for Judy Garland in 1938. From its Streamline Moderne architecture to its exuberent colour in velvety suede, the Rainbow Platform was the perfect shoe for the rising star whose most famous film, the Wizard of Oz, featured her signing ‘Over the Rainbow’.” (Exhibition Info) I sadly have not found a picture of her wearing them, though!
WWII Women’s Footwear, 1942-44
Technically, WWII falls outside of the Depression, but I thought this was a perfect inclusion. WWII very much punctuated the Depression, and I don’t think you can separate them. Although these particularly shoes aren’t as flashy or creative, they certainly served a purpose. The brown boot in the back was women by a member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corp, and the black shoe in the middle was worn by a British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force member. The white pair in the front was from the United States Women’s Army Corp. Womens’ roles in WWII has been a popular historical topic in the last decades, and I’m glad that fashion history is also exploring it.
WWII French Winter Boots, 1940-45
Now what kind of Canadian would I be to skip talking about winter boots? Winter footwear and clothing can be a crippling expense in cold climates at the best of times. When you are living in an Occupied territory and have rationing and shortages, it can be downright impossible. However, the French took the occupation in stride, and used fashion for a message. According to the exhibition, “In France, wedges and platforms were decried by the Germans as immoral and Parisian women wore them as a form of sartorial protest during the Occupation (1940-1944). This pair of wartime winter boots was made in France. Like other wartime footwear, they were crafter out of vegetable fibre and rabbit fur, materials not required by the war effort.” It may not seem like a big action, but daily life would have been difficult and dangerous. To To use style and fashion to “stick it”, these women were incredible!
Have you seen Want at the Bata Shoe Museum? Do any of these shoes stick out to you?
Cheers,
The Historian
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