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    Design – Material – Display

    The Example of the Swiss Shoe Manufacturer Bally, 1930–1950

    Institute for Cultural Studies in the Arts (ICS) (bis 2019)

    The industrial production of shoes began late, and shoes didn’t become fashionable until the 1930s. This event marked the beginning of the history of shoe design. Among the pioneers of industrial-scale production was Swiss shoe manufacturer Bally Ltd. Through detailed archival research at the extensive corporate archives, this research project explores an example of industrial production of fashion from its inception. Its keywords are design, material, distribution, and advertising.

    Shoes are complex artefacts. In a process involving over two hundred distinct steps, a large number of often coarse raw materials are turned into vestimentary objects, which affect physical and psychological wellbeing more than any other kind of object. Mass production of shoes began late. Among its pioneers was Swiss shoe manufacturer Bally Ltd, which soon became a global player, initially producing solid everyday shoes and work shoes. Shoes only became a fashion item in the 1930s, after which design and design decisions became highly significant. This project explores a case of industrial fashion production in three subprojects: the first project (titled Design) studies the forms and conditions of industrial design; the second (Material) focuses on the most important foundations of production; the third (Display) investigates commercial exhibitions as well as store- and shop-window design. They provide exemplary and comprehensive insights into an industry that gave itself a form between 1930 and 1950 that remains valid to this day.
    Using methods from cultural studies, design history, and fashion theory, the project makes a contribution to the history of Swiss industry and design and reappraises the extensive Bally archive.

    Details

    • Research Focus
      • FSP Kulturanalyse in den Künsten (bis 2019)
    • Project Lead
      • Anna-Brigitte Schlittler (ICS (bis 2019))
    • Applicant
      • Sigrid Adorf (ICS (bis 2019))
    • Team
      • Katharina Tietze (FRTI)
      • Nanina Egli (ICS (bis 2019))
      • Henriette-Friederike Herm (ICS (bis 2019))
    • Cooperations
      • Archiv Bally AG
      • Forschungsinstitut für Leder und Kunststoffbahnen
      • Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
      • Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum
      • The Clarks Archive
      • University of Leeds, Leadership Chair in the History of Business and Society, Grossbritannien und Nordirland
    • Duration

      01.08.2016 – 31.01.2018

    • Financing
      • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds SNF (01.08.2016 – 31.01.2018)
    • Research Approaches
      • Basic research
      • Scientific research
    • Disciplines

      Design, Transdisciplinary

    • Keywords

      Gender, Fashion Studies, Visual and Cultural Studies, Cultural History, Corporate Design, Socio-Economic Studies, Object-based Analysis, Material Culture

    • Related Projects
      • Diversity vs. Scarcity (predecessor project)

    Output

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Tietze, Katharina (2021): «Real Gold? A Material for 30s Evening Shoes». In: Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte / Tietze, Katharina (Hg.): Bally - A History of Footwear in the Interwar Period. 127–142.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Tietze, Katharina (2021): «Schönenwerd – New York. Bally Evening Shoes». In: Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte & Tietze, Katharina (Hg.): Bally - A History of Footwear in the Interwar Period. Fashion Studies, 10. Bielefeld: transcript, 61–75. Online unter: https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839457382-004.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Tietze, Katharina (2021): «“A Fairy-Tale Affair...!” Bally Shoes at the Swiss National Exposition of 1939». In: Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte & Tietze, Katharina (Hg.): Bally - A History of Footwear in the Interwar Period. Fashion Studies, 10. Bielefeld: transcript, 155–177. Online unter: https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839457382-009.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte (2016): «Queere Schuhe?». In: Lehnert, Gertrud & Weilandt, Maria (Hg.): Ist Mode Queer? Neue Perspektiven der Modeforschung. Fashion Studies, 7. Bielefeld: transcript, 59–72. Online unter: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5094257.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte (2016): «‹Bally-Schuhe sind tonangebende Modeschöpfungen›. Schuh-Design im Zweiten Weltkrieg». In: Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte & Tietze, Katharina (Hg.): Über Schuhe. Zur Geschichte und Theorie der Fußbekleidung. Fashion Studies, 6. Bielefeld: transcript, 73–91. Online unter: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5092312.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Tietze, Katharina (2016): «Schein und Wert. Goldleder als Material für Abendschuhe in den 1930er Jahren». In: Scholz, Martin & Weltzien, Friedrich (Hg.): Die Sprachen des Materials. Narrative – Theorien – Strategien. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 47–62. Online unter: http://www.reimer-mann-verlag.de/controller.php?cmd=detail&titelnummer=101560.

    • Aufsätze in Sammelbänden, Ausstellungskatalogen, Buchbeiträge

      Tietze, Katharina (2016): «Schönenwerd – New York: Abendschuhe von Bally». In: Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte / Tietze, Katharina (Hg.): Über Schuhe. Zur Geschichte und Theorie der Fußbekleidung. Fashion Studies. Bielefeld: transcript, 59–72.

    • Herausgeberschaft

      Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte & Tietze, Katharina (Hg.) (2021): Bally - A History of Footwear in the Interwar Period. Fashion Studies, 10. Bielefeld: transcript. Online unter: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5018655.

    • Ausstellungen, Konzerte, Aufführungen, Filmpräsentationen etc.

      Gimmi, Karin / Gerber, Rebekka / Schlittler, Anna-Brigitte & Tietze, Katharina (2019): «Bally. Das Geschäft mit dem Schuh». 14.03.2019–11.08.2019. Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich. Online unter: https://museum-gestaltung.ch/de/ausstellung/bally-das-geschaeft-mit-dem-schuh/.