Bally of Switzerland
Carl Franz Bally, the son of a silk ribbon weaver, was born in Schonenwerd, Switzerland in 1821. He founded the Bally Company in 1851 as a manufacturer and supplier of ribbons and sundries, which included elastic webbing used by shoemakers. The exact date the company began making shoes varies according to different corporate histories but it is often reported that while on a visit to Paris in the 1890’s Carl bought an entire stock of shoes with the intent of mass-producing high-quality copies. He died in 1898 after Bally had begun manufacturing footwear and his son continued the business as a quality manufacturer of fine shoes. Unlike many companies, Bally managed to not only survive the Great Depression and the material shortages caused by World War II but actually grew and prospered. Bally shoes were successfully exported around the world from the 1920s to the 1960s and exports accelerated during the 1970s reaching a pinnacle in the mid 1980s. Sales began to falter in the 1990s with competitive brands taking a larger share of the market and Bally was sold in 1999 to an American investment firm. The company is reorganizing to seek their former position as lead manufacturers in the luxury footwear market.
Written by Jonathan Walford for his book The Seductive Shoe (2007).
Addendum: TPG (Texas Pacific Group) owned Bally International from 1999 until 2008, when it was sold to Labelux Group, part of JAB, at which time headquarters was moved to London. Over the next 16 years, Bally put more emphasis on womenswear as well as high end bags & accessories after acquiring Zagliani, an Italian leathergoods company. Rhuiggi Villasenor was creative director from 2022 to 2024, followed by Simone Bellotti as design director.
