If you want to walk
in Elizabeth Semmelhack’s shoes, you need to be filled with passion.
A certain liveliness emits from her when she’s asked to describe one of her favourite artifacts at the Bata
Shoe Museum. After resolving on a paduka, a form of traditional Indian footwear, Semmelhack’s eyes are alit
and her arms begin to wave animatedly as she explains the shoe’s origins. She leans forward and her voice is
imbued with excitement and hints of wonderment as the story of the paduka winds its way through its long
history. But it is the brilliant structure of this particular paduka that amazes Semmelhack the most and she
describes it by using her forefinger to trace its structure in the air, making sure every detail is
understood.
One of her jobs as a senior curator is to research the history and story of the artifacts in the museum’s
collection. “I’m constantly trying to answer questions and unravel certain mysteries,” Semmelhack says. “My
job is one of constant questioning and constant surprises. I want the visitor to come here curious; I think
that’s how I come to work here every day.”
A common misconception is that it is a fashion museum. However, as its tagline, “It’s for the curious,”
suggests, most visitors — both tentative and eager — come in curious and leave surprised and satisfied. The
comprehensive exhibits at the Bata Shoe Museum will impress visitors with how interesting and varied shoe
history is, and how relevant shoes are to larger cultural concepts. “The museum is wide-ranging — we’re not a
fashion museum by any stretch of the imagination. We really are interested in making sure whatever shoe we’re
looking at can lead us into a larger cultural moment,” says Semmelhack.
The museum has more than 13,000 artifacts from all over the world, with the oldest one being 4,500 years old
and from ancient Egypt. “What’s really amazing about this institution is that this is one woman’s
collection,” says Semmelhack. Sonja Bata started collecting footwear when she married “shoe man” Thomas Bata
in the 1940s. She began travelling and became intrigued with the different styles of footwear worn by people
from different areas around the world. It was then that she began collecting and in 1995 she launched the
museum.
The museum houses a permanent exhibit that has been on display since its conception 15 years ago. This
introductory gallery is divided into sections that delve into the theme of status, religious concepts
displayed through traditional footwear and celebrity shoes, only to name a few. There is also a section
geared towards children called “Small Soles to Tall Tales,” which is divided into three fairytale themes from
“The Elves and the Shoemaker” to the “Cinderella” story and the “Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.”
Semmelhack says they are constantly rotating the artifacts in this permanent gallery in order to show the
diversity in their collection. “The collection is incredibly wide-ranging, very deep, but we are also
actively collecting and I think one of the challenges is how we get our shoes,” says Semmelhack. She says
they receive artifacts through donations and from art auctions and dealers.
However, whenever the Bata Shoe Museum acquires shoes, it is often left the challenge of researching its
cultural lineage and story. “Shoes are made by shoemakers to be consumed the moment they were made, and they
are discarded the second they either wear out or the fashion shifts,” she says. “Articles of dress suffer
much more than something that is meant to hang on your wall and be passed down to generations after, so this
makes the researching of those artifacts more exciting and also more challenging.”
In addition to the permanent exhibit, there are always three changing exhibits also on display at the Bata
Shoe Museum. These are replaced yearly, but while on display they showcase their fabulous collections from
eight months to a year on average. Starting Oct. 1, 2010, Shoes in Art/Art in Shoes will replace the
On a Pedestal exhibit and run until the spring of 2012.
Shoes in Art/Art in Shoes will be displaying historic works of art that have shoes incorporated
within the image. Actual shoes that resemble the ones shown in the painting will be featured alongside it.
“We’re pulling this one element out of the painting and letting you see the real thing,” Semmelhack
explains.
Everything is worth seeing at both the permanent and changing exhibits but Semmelhack says there are some
artifacts that stand alone. Take, for example, the paduka mentioned above — it is a remarkable artifact that
displays the handiwork and intellect of its time. Featured in the All About Shoes exhibit, the
paduka is stilted on either end of the foot bed, which creates a bridge structure. The wearer holds the
paduka on his or her feet by placing the toe knob in between the big and second toe.
What’s really interesting is that the toe knob was sculpted as a lotus blossom that has a small hole in the
middle, which leads to a mechanism that is hidden under the paduka. At the back of the paduka is a button
that is pushed when the person wearing the shoe steps down. When it is pushed, the mechanism forces perfumed
water through the shoe and out of the lotus blossom, so that with every step the wearer takes, he or she
leaves perfumed steps behind. “I think it’s a brilliant invention... something I’d love a contemporary
designer to revive,” says Semmelhack.
With every aspect of the world at our feet through these exhibits, it’s no wonder why people flock to the
Bata Shoe Museum. Semmelhack says it is not only because of the wide array of artifacts but also the
deep-rooted interest in shoes, which has been building in recent history. She says, “We’re increasingly
relying on our shoes to make our gender and fashion status statements and so I think that is why footwear has
become so interesting lately.” •
