Born in Switzerland in 1851, Bally is one of the world's longstanding luxury brands. Discover our history on the official Bally website.

Swiss luxury brand history | Bally Official Online Store

Born in Switzerland in 1851, Bally is one of the world's longstanding luxury brands. Proud to be leather architects, our DNA as skilled shoemakers marries a heritage of craftsmanship with a decidedly contemporary aesthetic. In January 2022, Bally welcomed Rhuigi Villaseñor as Creative Director. Born in Manila, Rhuigi has been Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Rhude since 2015. He will present his first collection for Bally with the Spring/Summer 2023 season.

About Us

Founded by Carl Franz Bally, what began as a family-run ribbon factory in Schönenwerd quickly became a pioneering global brand by the turn of the century as Bally industrialized its processes (1854), built infrastructure and services to support its employees, and expanded stores from Montevideo, Uruguay (1870) to Paris, France (1879). Today, Bally continues to honor its timeless traditions, subscribing to the belief that quality speaks for itself. Even our most iconic shoes, like the men's formal Scribe, created by Carl Franz Bally's grandson Max Bally in celebration of the brand's 100-year anniversary in 1951, are still handmade in Switzerland, taking 240 artisanal techniques to complete.

History

Delve into Bally’s world of craftsmanship through our series of behind-the-scenes films.

Bally dares to be different, always designing with longevity in mind. Our team of multi-generational artisans based in Caslano, Switzerland, handcraft styles with consistency and care, embodying our dedicated approach to making shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear.

Craftsmanship

We engineer functional fashion that breaks boundaries. Whether it’s Reindeer boots, worn by Tenzing Norgay during the first-ever ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, technical Curling shoes worn by the Swiss Olympic team, or the use of AI and 3-D prototyping to inform our designs, we embrace a multitude of cutting-edge technologies to maximize our possibilities.

Innovation

Inspired by modern architecture and the arts, we strive to design beautiful products with relevance and restraint. Using clean lines and a signature edge, our house signifiers, like the classic red-and-white Bally Stripe or the symmetrical 1851 hardware, grace our collections and have withstood the test of time.

Creativity

Since the early 20th century, Bally has partnered with the world’s top creative talent, commissioning French illustrator Bernard Villemot to create globally-renowned advertising posters, or the leading architects of their time, like the late, legendary Corbusier, Karl Moser, Robert Mallet-Stevens and Andrée Putman. More recently, award-winning firm Casper Mueller Kneer Architects designed our Milan Bally Haus flagship concept in 2019.

Collaboration

Community

Born in the Swiss Alps, we are profoundly passionate about integrating nature into all that we do, from taking tangible action towards mountain preservation through the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation (established in 2020) to honoring the elements as a primary source of inspiration for our collections. Learn more about our approach to Sustainability and the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, dedicated to protecting fragile alpine environments around the world.

Environment

Curling has been intrinsic to Bally’s rich history, from the first Curling shoes to the latest collection designed by Rhuigi Villaseñor. Shop the looks on Bally.com.

Bally Curling Capsule: Men's & Women's winter collection | Bally

Introducing the limited-edition capsule by Rhuigi Villaseñor

Introducing the limited-edition capsule by Rhuigi Villaseñor: Alpine heritage reimagined with a California spirit. Curling has been intrinsic to Bally’s rich history since our winter curling shoe (an après-ski boot) launched shortly after it graced the soles of the Swiss team in the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in 1956. This off-pitch boot has gone on to become a Bally signature, capturing modern style with heritage craftsmanship for over 70 years. Now, Swiss meets the American West as respected winter forms meet unexpected details: think collegiate logos, stitched motifs and luxurious plays on texture.

Bally honors a longstanding commitment to responsible business practices since 1851. Explore Bally's commitment to its people, products and the environment.

Bally Commitment: Social & Environmental Responsibility  | Bally

Bally honors a longstanding commitment to responsible business practices since 1851. In the company’s early years, founder Carl Franz Bally pioneered modern employee benefits, including an on-site canteen, children’s daycare and community park. Our products have embodied excellence in design with quality and function that go the distance—most notably, to the top of Everest. Building upon this tradition of continuous innovation, Bally remains passionately dedicated to its people, product and the environment.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Since our founding in 1851, Bally has always been a company that cares: for excellence in craft, the well-being of its people, and the lasting impact our work has on the planet. Through three distinct pillars of purpose—promoting the arts (The Bally Foundation), providing educational opportunities (Bally Crafting Futures) and preserving the mountains (Bally Peak Outlook)—we support culture, talent and the environment, aligned with our Swiss heritage and DNA.

Discover Bally's distinct pillars of purpose. 

Sustainability at Bally

Bally was born of Swiss values like this one. From the very beginning, a dedication to social responsibility and respect for the environment has been intrinsic to our identity and evident in our actions, well before terms like 'Sustainability' or 'Corporate Social Responsibility' existed. At Bally, there was just a strong culture of wanting to do right by our people, product and planet. As the world changes around us, so have consumer expectations. People have rightly begun to demand more of the brands they love. As a result, we’re strengthening our commitment to transparency, sharing the targets we’ve set related to Sustainability, and the progress we’ve made towards achieving them.

Making things better by making better things.

Our Sustainability Pillars

Whether facilitating greater transparency, publishing our Code of Ethics, increasing the cadence of monitoring and reporting, or aligning with global affiliate organizations to drive awareness industry-wide, having open and honest communications will allow for greater corporate accountability and governance. We publish our Sustainability Reports annually and maintain accountability by following up on our company-wide progress. We also endeavor to move towards greater transparency, like mapping 90% of Tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers by 2022.

I. Transparency

This pillar demands excellence in design, materials, technology and supply chain, accounting for the most pollutants and waste produced from product to packaging. By enacting better purchasing decisions and evolving sourcing and procurement, we plan to develop longevity programs aimed at product care and repair by 2022, and ensure 100% traceability of all leather back to farms, with 75% of leather purchased from certified tanneries by 2025. We will also strive to ensure 95% of raw materials are traceable to farm level by 2025, among other actionable goals to help minimize environmental harm.

II. Quality

Since Bally’s founding in 1851, we have been a leader in supporting creative minds and diverse communities through The Bally Foundation, Crafting Futures, and the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation. Bally will continue to strengthen its people, culture and core values through collective entrepreneurship, meaningfulness and high performance. Our ultimate goal is to create a purposeful business model that gives back by benefiting all.

III. Collaboration

Building on our history of innovation, from processes to materials and design, Bally’s future depends on the ability to accelerate change and find unprecedented solutions that can bring distant goals within reach, like introducing a fully circular product to the market (2025), reducing single-use plastics in B2B and B2C product packaging by 30% (2025), and by 100% (2030). Through Bally’s Center of Excellence, we are further committed to research and development, strategic partnerships and innovation. For further inquiries, please contact sustainability@bally.ch