Fila walks into the Bata Shoe Museum’s exhibit “Out of the Box: The Rise of the Sneaker Culture”

On Saturday September 28, 2013 Fila Canada celebrated the introduction of Grant Hill’s 1996 Olympic sneaker into the Out of the Box: The Rise of the Sneaker Culture exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, which features legendary sneakers from 1860 to present day. It was an exciting, much-anticipated event that celebrated one of our biggest obsessions…shoes!

This iconic Grant Hill II sneaker, which is signed by the basketball legend himself, is the actual sneaker Hill wore in the 1996 Olympic games where he and his American teammates beat out the Yugoslavian team to take home the gold medal! Its other half lives in the Fila Museum in Italy – the country where the historic brand originated in 1911. We’re big supporters of brands with a rich history and proud to see Fila Canada receive this honour.

The event drew an energetic, diverse crowd, including influencers like the former footwear design director for the Jordan Brand and the current founder of Pensole Footwear Design Academy D’Wayne Edwards, hosts of TSNs talk show “1on1” Duane Watson and Will Strickland, co-founders of Toronto Loves Kicks Lee Joseph and Dion Walcott, and many more ‘sneakerheads’.  

We always love to hear about unique Toronto events, especially those that celebrate our love of shoes! The exhibit, which was launched in April 2013, is the first in North America dedicated to the history of the sneaker, running now until March 2014!

Check out the video from the party – such a great event!