Bata celebrates 125 years of history with Fashion Weekend

Bata has launched its annual fashion show, Bata Fashion Weekend 2019, in celebration of its 125th anniversary. The event took place in Prague, the birthplace of Bata, on 13 – 14 April at the Zofin Palace. Themed “The Evolution of Style”, the Bata Fashion Weekend saw the fashion footwear company showcase its Italian, Chinese, and Asia Pacific collections. The audiences were presented with a selection of the latest designs while people across the world tuned in via Bata’s Facebook live stream. Bata’s Heritage range drew on its 125-year history and featured retro kicks with a contemporary spin – its latest collaboration with Coca-Cola. The latest sneakers from one of Bata’s brands, Power, was also unveiled. The Power Mello, with its marshmallow-like sole, will be launched globally after the Bata Fashion Weekend. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, Bata presented an exclusive elegant capsule collection which is set to be launched in October 2019 at the event as well. A shoe exhibition was held in a separate hall, which allowed audiences to get up close and personal with the pieces that they saw from the stage during the catwalk show. There was also a pop-up museum which displayed items, vintage shoes and movies from Bata’s 125-year history. Aside from the shoe exhibition, pop-up museum, and catwalk show, the Bata Fashion Weekend 2019 also saw the judging of its annual contest, the Bata Young Designers’ Challenge, where students compete to produce the winning design. This year, the contest saw top design talents from universities in Italy, Kenya and the Czech Republic. The winning shoes will be put into production and sold across the world at selected Bata stores. Amongst the many guests who turned up were celebrities Amyra Rosli and Amar Baharin, who attended the Bata Fashion Weekend in Red Labels along with select articles from the Italian Collection as well as Bata Malaysia’s upcoming Raya Collection. Jana Barbati Chadova, head of global marketing for Bata and the person leading the organising team, said she felt “proud and honoured” to be showing Bata’s shoes at “such a historical venue”. She views it as a “special” experience and borrows the brand’s tagline, adding that she feels “quite emotional” but is “Comfortable With It”.