Our 2025 Wrapped 👠🎉

January: Started off the year with Cultural Narratives, a panel discussion in partnership with @designlinesmagazine to chat about the power of design.

February: Future Now continued it’s US tour in @sarasotaartmuseum with @amfedarts

March: We had to say goodbye to one of our favourite exhibitions Dressed to Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s but made sure to throw a party to celebrate it’s success!

April: In celebration of Earth Month, we hosted two walking tours of the Bloor-Annex neighbourhood to celebrate Indigenous history and ecological heritage in partnership with The Indigenous Peoples Garden Inc. (formally known as AKI WIIDOOKAAGEWIN (Ontario Earth Helpers).

May: Celebrated 30 years of the Bata Shoe Museum with the opening of Rough & Ready: A History of the Cowboy Boot

June: We put our cowboy boots on and marched in this year’s Pride Parade with @pridetoronto

July: @aurorajames took a tour of our vault during one of her Toronto visits!

August: We had @tonybenattar and @floraknightbootmaker join us for a fascinating panel to chat about their unique journeys and contributions to the enduring legacy of cowboy boots.

September: Donated by @stevensmith, his new shoes designed for @crocs arrived at the BSM to be added to our permanent collection!

October: Our fall exhibition celebrates the first solo exhibition of the iconic footwear designer André Perugia

November: Honouring Mrs. Bata’s birthday, we celebrated this year’s Founder’s Lecture with two Canadian icons,@thierrymaximeloriot and @thejeannebeker

December: @projectrunwaycanada’s episode featuring the Museum aired on Crave! ...

Don`t forget to check out our holiday hours when planning your visit:

Wednesday, December 24: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursday, December 25: CLOSED
Friday, December 26: CLOSED
Saturday, December 27: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday, December 28: 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Monday, December 29: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tuesday, December 30: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Wednesday, December 31: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursday, January 1: CLOSED
Friday, January 2: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm ...

In the early 1990s, @stevensmith and Paul Litchfield created one of the most futuristic sneakers of all time, the Reebok Instapump Fury. Its radical new architecture was achieved by stripping away everything but the most essential components. The air bladder allowed the sneaker to be fitted to the foot without laces and functioned as the upper, while the two-part sole cushioned the forepart of the foot and heel with no extra material.

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is on view at @themintmuseum Randolph until January 4, 2026! @amfedarts
📷: Courtesy of The Mint Museum ...

We are honoured to be featured in the latest episode of @projectrunwaycanada! Here are the shoes from our collection that helped inspired this week`s challenge:

1. 20th century red satin knee high boots worn by fashion icon Diana Vreeland
2. 1950s ivory bedroom slippers by Daniel Green (which also manufactured a pair of red satin boudoir slippers worn by Marilyn Monroe that is in our collection!)
3. 19th century button boots
4. 1930s spectators shoes worn by actor Bela Lugosi
5. 1960s boots designed by French fashion designer André Courrèges
6. 2024 pink desert cowboy boots by Queer in the World
7. 2015 Elyse faux leather platform derbys designed by Stella McCartney ...

📢 BIG NEWS 📢 On this week`s episode of @projectrunwaycanada, the designers visited us to to draw inspiration for their shoe-inspired high-fashion looks 👠 Stay tuned for when we share the shoes from our collection that inspired the challenge! #ProjectRunwayCanada ...