OVERVIEW:
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks explores over fifty futuristic footwear designs from the auto-lacing Nike MAG to the virtual RTFKT x Staple Meta-Pigeon. It considers how cutting-edge technologies, unexpected materials, and new ideas are transforming footwear today. This provocative exhibition includes digitally designed and 3D printed shoes, sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, as well as footwear created for the metaverse. Featured designers and brands include: Salehe Bembury, Steven Smith, RTFKT, Mr. Bailey, Zaha Hadid, D’Wayne Edwards, Nike ISPA, Safa Şahin, Tom Sachs, EKTO VR, Saysh, Benoit Méléard, SCRY, Yeezy, and many more.
“The future is always being shaped by the present,” says Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum. “The exhibition includes the many incredible and innovative new footwear designs that are promising to transform what we wear tomorrow. From sneakers created to address issues related to sustainability and inclusion, to shoes that blur the line between the real world and the metaverse, this exhibition explores how forward-looking creators are helping us step forward.”
Divided into the four areas of innovation, sustainability, transformation and the virtual world, and designed by the award-winning agency Arc + Co. Design Collective, FUTURE NOW showcases over 50 futuristic designs from the museum’s holdings, as well as loans from prominent collectors, designers and inventors.
exhibition highlights:
INNOVATION:
The Nike MAG, the pair of self-lacing sneakers first imagined in the 1989 film Back to the Future II and made real in 2015.
(Image: Nike MAG, 2015. Collection of Nike DNA)
SUSTAINABLE:
Streetwear brand FW_D XP4_Mavy sneaker made of recycled and recyclable materials and PETA approved.
(Image: F_WD XP4_Mavy, 2021, © 2022 BATA SHOE MUSEUM, TORONTO, CANADA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (Image by Kailee Mandel).
TRANSFORMATIVE:
Salehe Bembury, inspired by his own finger print, create the first Croc to break the mould.
(Image: Salehe Bembury x Crocs Pollex, 2021. COPYRIGHT © 2022 BATA SHOE MUSEUM, TORONTO, CANADA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
VIRTUAL:
EKTO VR’s motorized boots for wear by VR users give users the sensation of walking naturally through virtual spaces.
(Image: EKTO One Robotic VR boots, 2021. Collection of Brad Factor)
FUTURE NOW: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks opens May 26 and will be on view until next October 2023.
FUTURE NOW BOOK:
In addition to the exhibition, an accompanying book also titled FUTURE NOW features in-depth interviews with of-the-moment creatives and design teams, including Salehe Bembury, Benoit Pagotto, Steven Vasilev and Chris Le from RTFKT, Steven Smith, Alexander Taylor, Jeff Staple, Mr. Bailey, Zixiong Wei from SCRY, D’Wayne Edwards from Pensole, and Darryl Matthews and Shamees Aden from Nike ISPA. Published by Rizzoli Electa, the 224-page book comes in hardcover and includes 150 stunning colour images.