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Art Art & Books

Booty call

Rating: NNN


Ever since Queen Victoria started the fashion of white weddings in 1840, Western brides have paled in comparison to their more flamboyant sisters around the world. A year-long exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum featuring global finery gives us a glimpse of what we’re missing.

First there’s the colour, which seems to run riot everywhere, from the Korean bride’s red silk skirt and green jacket topped by a coat with multi-coloured sleeves to the Hindu bride’s gold-and-silver-threaded silk sari.

Grooms in this show don’t just go for black and white either witness the Korean gentleman’s horsehair hat, black velvet boots and purple silk robe embroidered with cranes, or the Indian groom in his jacket of gold brocaded ivory silk with a pink and gold turban and matching gold slippers.

Since textile art has traditionally been considered evidence of wifely virtue, many of these costumes are handmade by brides, and they exhibit a high level of craftsmanship. Fine embroidery, knitting, gold leaf, tie dye and batik are just a few of the techniques represented.

The footwear is particularly fun and creative. Unique crafted pieces include the accordion-pleated leather boots of Moravia, the wooden lattice-like platform-heeled sandals of Indonesia, knitted socks from Macedonia and reindeer-skin boots with multicoloured yarn pompoms worn by Saami couples in northern Europe.

Although the brilliance of these costumes may leave the colour-deprived among us feeling green with envy, keep in mind that the white-and-black tradition isn’t that old. Before Queen Victoria, the average couple simply wore their “most sumptuous clothes” to their wedding, regardless of the colour.

Could this show inspire a new trend?

The Perfect Pair at Bata Shoe Museum (327 Bloor West), to spring 2004. $6, stu/srs $4. 416-979-7799. Rating: NNN

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