Moira Shearer

   Up until 1948 Moira Shearer was virtually unknown outside the British ballet world. But on July 22^nd of that year the film “The Red Shoes” premiered at the Gaumont Theatre in the Haymarket in London. The film went out to general release in the U.K. in early September and soon after Moira Shearer became a household name. Then, of course, the potential sponsors came a-courting.

   Chief among these were the preeminent British shoe manufacturer, Clarks. However, other companies showing interest in her also included Pringle, the Scottish company that specialised in luxury clothing, Basildon Bond, that produced top-of-the-line stationary products and Leichner, a German cosmetics manufacturer.

   While there are records of contacts by the public relations executives of Clarks and Pringle with Shearer it does not appear that either offered her fees for any sponsorship she provided. Instead, in the case of Clarks, the company donated to her boots and shoes. One of the ads for Clarks “Eskimo” bootees shows Shearer in 1950 being fitted outside her dressing room on the set for the Tales of Hoffmann. Other ads show her wearing Clarks dress shoes. A number of well-known British actresses like Margaret Lockwood appear to have had a similar relationship with Clarks.

   The arrangement with Pringle is not recorded but was probably similar to that with Clarks.

   In the case of Basildon Bond, it appears as though she agreed to their use of her handwriting in their advertisement. In the case of Leichner their ads featured photos of Shearer as she appeared in The Red Shoes but there is no suggestion that she endorsed their products.

   When The Sadler’s Wells Ballet travelled to North America on their first tour in 1949 each of the leading ballerinas was provided with clothes, shoes and even nylons! The couturiers Mattli and Digby Morton designed and supplied cocktail dresses, coats and suits to Shearer. These were returned after the tour was complete. As the intent of the exercise was to promote British fashion houses, the dancers were, in effect, clothes’ horses.

   An ad in the programme for a Sadler’s Wells Ballet performance in Ottawa in 1951 was placed by the London company, Freed’s, which was the main supplier of satin pointe shoes to Sadlers Wells. In another Freed’s ad, in a 1951 issue of the magazine, Dance and Dancers, Shearer shares the limelight with Margot Fonteyn, Beryl Grey, Pamela May and other dancers. Once again there is no record of any business agreement between the manufacturer and these dancers. However, in Shearer’s case, as she signed the photo dedicated to him, she apparently had developed a friendship with the owner, Frederick Freed.

   The flurry of activity and sponsors’ interest in Shearer seem to have been limited to the years 1949 to 1951. After 1951 sponsorship ceased entirely. However, with the development in the British press in the 1960s and 70s of the “Sunday supplement”, like The Sunday Times Magazine, and of magazines aimed at the general public Moira Shearer was once again the subject of popular interest.

Below are some examples of Shearer’s sponsorship.

Clarks.

An ad in the trade journal, Ambassador, showing Moira Shearer being fitted for Clarks’ bootees outside her dressing room on the set of The Tales of Hoffmann in 1950. Both the fitter and the unknown photographer were probably employed by Clarks.

Shearer wearing Clarks’ Skyline dress shoes posing beside the Golden Arrow at Victoria station in London. The photo was published in the British highend magazine, Britannia and Eve in August 1950. Photographer unknown.

Pringle.

Shearer wearing a cashmere sweater for Pringle in 1951. The photo was published in the Pringle catalogue for that year. Watt (Border) University Archive. Photographer unknown.

Basildon Bond.

A sketch of Moira Shearer in an ad for the stationary manufacturer, Basildon Bond. The ad features her handwriting and an analysis of it. Dated 1951. Publication unknown.

Freed’s.

An ad for Freed’s pointe shoes in Dance and Dancers, 1951.

An ad in a programme for a performance in Ottawa in 1951. The photo is a publicity shot of her produced at the time of the release of The Red Shoes in 1948. Photographer unknown.

Sources

Ambassador, number 10, 1949. London Fashions for the English Ballet.

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, programme, Ottawa, January 22^nd 1951