Nov 22, 2023

The Bata Shoe Museum time travels to the 1980s

The exhibition Dressed to Impress examines self-expression and consumerism through 80s footwear

What do your shoes say about you? Or, better yet, what do you want your shoes to say about you? Are you a fitness buff, a hardworking professional, or a rebel who doesn’t play by the rules?

A new exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum digs into the connection between consumption, identity, and footwear by returning guests to a decade known for materialism and consumption - the 1980s. Dressed to Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s is a historical retrospective examining self-expression, the rise of high-performance footwear, and the lasting influence of 80s consumerism on today’s consumer habits.

Noticing a renewed interest in 80s pop culture, Nishi Bassi, Curator and Exhibitions Manager, wanted her first major solo exhibition as curator to examine the commodification of trends during the decade famous for shopping malls, mail-order catalogues and advertisements.

“I noticed there’s been a renewed nostalgia for the 80s in pop culture over the past couple of years - TV shows like Stranger Things, movies set in the 80s… and on TikTok, there is a subculture amongst Gen Z that is fascinated with 80s fashion, movies and music, so it seemed very timely,” Bassi explained.

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The gallery space transports guests into an 80s mall where they can “window shop” various storefronts showcasing shoes organized by trends relating to workwear, sneaker culture, activewear, and rebel subcultures. Coincidentally showcasing 80 pairs of shoes, the exhibition examines how fashion can be seen as a tool to become successful, achieve the perfect body, or gain a desired lifestyle.

Adding to the Bata’s collection, Bassi purchased around 25 percent of the footwear on view in Dressed to Impress through scouring eBay, Etsy, auction sites, and thrift stores. The exhibition also features two pieces on loan from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Fashion Research Collection and two from the Reebok Archive in Boston. Highlights from the exhibition include John Fluevog Winklepickers, which became the chosen silhouette for goths in the 80s, Gucci Horsebit Loafers, which were popular amongst business executives at the time, a pair of pumps made for Princess Diana and one of Bassi’s favourites, the Reebok Freestyle Hi.

“The Freestyle debuted in ‘82, and it was one of the earliest attempts to market athletic footwear specifically to women because aerobics was so popular with women,” they said. “The Freestyle came in an incredible amount of colours… I think it speaks so much to 80s fitness culture and just the vibrancy of workout outfits. You can imagine somebody wearing them with a bright pink leotard, and a neon yellow headband.”

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While the 80s saw an increase in the consumption of various goods such as electronics, home appliances, and toys, Bassi finds that footwear continues to be a powerful window for studying capitalism, status, gender, and race, not only in the 80s but also in our modern day.

“I think what's fantastic about footwear and fashion in general is it's meant to be consumed as soon as it's produced,” she explained. “In my opinion, there's no better medium for getting a sense of what a period was like than looking at fashion and trying to understand what people's cultural motivations were for buying things. What's so fantastic is that a lot of the themes that I explore in this exhibition, like success, rebellion, or urban cool - we still deal with all those things when it comes to purchasing footwear - we just don't think about it. When you're going out and buying a pair of Doc Martens, there's this whole history and cultural baggage that comes with it and the same was true if you were buying Doc Martens in the 80s.”

While the exhibition plays on nostalgia, it also invites viewers to think critically about consumption and how the 80s have continued to influence our consumption today.

“That conversation is still relevant about what we are wearing to work, what we are wearing to work out - what do we wear when we're walking down the street that makes it look like we’re fit or successful or that we play basketball or that we’re a skater,” Bassi said. “I hope that visitors are able to appreciate that and really ask questions about how footwear serves similar functions culturally today.”

Dressed to Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s is on view until March 16, 2025. The Bata Shoe Museum offers free general admission every Sunday.