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Classic 80s footwear and the decade’s raddest trends featured in new Toronto exhibition

A new exhibition coming to Toronto is bringing people back to the 1980’s, where sneakers, pumps and vibrant flair were the pinnacle of pop culture. (Courtesy: Bata Shoe Museum)

A new exhibition coming to Toronto is bringing people back to the 1980’s, where sneakers, pumps and vibrant flair were the pinnacle of pop culture. 

The “Dressed to Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s” exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum is the first large-scale collection organized by Nishi Bassi, curator and exhibitions project manager at the museum. 

The exhibition, which is set to open on Wednesday, features over 80 pairs of shoes throughout the decade, organized into six themes: Dressed for Success; Work Hard, Play Hard, Let’s Get Physical, Mainstream Rebels, Pump it Up, and Designer Highlights.

“This is a really fun and exciting exhibition that looks at some of the biggest trends of the 1980s. And what I do is I look at how footwear was sold and some consumer culture and advertising from this period and how footwear was related to larger social concepts like success or fitness, or rebellion in this decade,” Bassi said in an interview with Now Toronto. 

Courtesy: Bata Shoe Museum

When visitors walk in, they can expect an 80s shopping mall-style aesthetic, complete with a mini movie theatre and food court. Along the walls of the spectacle, visitors will find some of the most influential shoes of the 1980’s from Nike Air Jordan 1’s, John Fluevog Winklepickers, Susan Bennis/Warren Edwards ‘Power’ Pumps and so much more. 

“There seems to be a really interesting nostalgia for the 1980s. It’s been percolating the past few years, especially amongst Gen Z. And I thought it would just be very timely to look at this decade from a historical perspective and start to explore why it’s so fascinating to people and what was really happening with fashion in this period,” Bassi said, explaining why she chose the 80’s as her muse. 

The curator goes on to explain some of the footwear included in the exhibit that she believes will catch people’s attention due to its cultural significance and impact on 80’s fashion.

“We have a pair of low heeled pumps that were designed for Princess Diana. And I think Princess Diana embodied demure femininity, that was really promoted as a fashion that working women should wear and she was a working woman in this decade. So, I think those are very interesting,” she said.

“We also have a pair of original Air Jordan 1’s that are on display. So, the Air Jordan 1’s skyrocketed in the 1980s and made basketball shoes so popular and so profitable in this decade. So, that’s also another fun highlight,” she continued.

Courtesy: Bata Shoe Museum

This exhibit aims to show visitors that some fashion trends have not changed nor stemmed far from today. People continue to dress for success and dress to impress in the same way. Bassi hopes that visitors will understand that buying shoes in this modern period still holds some of the same values and implications as it did in the 80s, such as having relations to the workplace, fitness or street fashion. 

For instance, footwear such as cowboy boots, Adidas shell toe cap sneakers and Jordan 1’s remain some of the most popular shoes to date. 

The new exhibition is set to open to the public on Nov. 1 until March 16, 2025. 

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