Slideshow: the iconic, crazy cool shoes at the Bata Shoe Museum’s new sneaker exhibition
Slideshow: the iconic, crazy cool shoes at the Bata Shoe Museum’s new sneaker exhibition
Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture is the first exhibition in North America to trace the sneaker’s journey from athletic gear to status symbol. It’s also a chance to ogle really cool kicks designed by everyone from Damien Hirst to Christian Louboutin and worn by the likes of Michael Jordan and Terry Fox. Below, our favourites from the 120 pairs on display.
On until March 30, 2014. Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St. W., 416.979.7799, batashoemuseum.ca
See all the shoes »
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- This leather shoe from the early 1860s is thought to be the oldest running shoe in existence
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- The Converse Gripper was popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Nike debuted the lightweight Waffle Trainer in 1974 after co-founder Bill Bowerman discovered that pressing rubber into his wife’s waffle-maker allowed him to create lighter soles with durable treads
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- <span class="noskimwords"> The Reebok Freestyle, released in 1982, was the most popular aerobics shoe ever made</span>
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Puma’s RS-Computer Shoe from 1986 had a computer chip in the heel to log distance and time. Users used a cable to connect the shoe to compatible home computers—which included the Commodore 64
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- The Dunk Supreme in white and blue (2003) was one of the most sought-after sneakers in history, in part because Nike only released 1,000 pairs
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Heavyweight industrial designer Karim Rashid did the gallery design for the exhibition. He also contributed a limited-edition sneaker from 2006
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- The handmade look of artist Tom Sachs’ limited-edition sneakers for Nike from 2009 contrasts with the perfection of mass-produced consumer goods
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Converse enlisted British celeb-artist Damien Hirst to design a pair of sneakers for charity in 2010
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Pierre Hardy’s Poworama shoes from 2011 were inspired by <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/prints-multiples/roy-lichtenstein-sweet-dreams-baby-from-11-5615398-details.aspx">the work</a> of pop artist of Roy Lichtenstein
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- For a 2011 collaboration with Puma, fashion designer Hussein Chalayan tried to evoke speed by adding molded polyurethane spikes to a pair of white sneakers
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- <span class="noskimwords"> Kanye West and Kobe Bryant are both fans of artist Mache’s custom shoes. In 2012, he hand-painted a portrait of Heath Ledger as the Joker from <em>The Dark Night</em> onto a Nike Air Force XXV</span>
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Like Christian Louboutin’s famous stilettos, these studded, pony-skin sneakers from 2012 have bright red soles
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Brooklyn-based artist Shantell Martin collaborated with Nike in 2012. The result: sneakers adorned with her signature line drawings
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- Prada recently combined elements of golf shoes and sneakers to create a futuristic wingtip
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- <span class="noskimwords"> Terry Fox’s Adidas running shoe for his Marathon of Hope in 1980</span>
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- When Nike started making sneakers for Michael Jordan in 1984, the colourful shoes flouted NBA rules—resulting in a $5,000 fine for Jordan for every game he wore them
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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- <span class="noskimwords"> American designer Jeremy Scott <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671715/offensive-jeremy-scott-and-adidas-debut-native-american-tracksuits#1">courted controversy</a> earlier this year by borrowing iconography from West Coast First Nations totem poles for an Adidas collection<br /> </span>
- (Image: Bata Shoe Museum)
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
- Cool sneakers at the Bata Shoe Museum
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Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture is the first exhibition in North America to trace the sneaker’s journey from athletic gear to status symbol. It’s also a chance to ogle really cool kicks designed by everyone from Damien Hirst to Christian Louboutin and worn by the likes of Michael Jordan and Terry Fox. Below, our favourites from the 120 pairs on display.
On until March 30, 2014. Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St. W., 416.979.7799, batashoemuseum.ca
See all the shoes »
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