Papillon the Original Dancewear

The history of Papillon begins in the fifties of the last century when an Amsterdam family had a business in leather. While visiting a small shoe shop in London they saw a pair of ballet shoes and so arises the idea to manufacture leather ballet slippers. For this new product they created the name ‘Le Papillon’ which conveys the allure and tradition of French ballet world.

Swinging Seventies

In the seventies Papillon is not only present in the ballet world, it expands into the dance scene. 

It are the days for movies like Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Fame and Flashdance and showballett is getting an important role in TV series like TopPop.It is a dynamic period for the dance scene and more and more people enjoy dancing.

In the nineties Papillon expands into the sports scene. Sports like fitness, yoga and aerobics have many similarities with dance and for that reason Papillon is more and more seen in the gym’s. 

The sporty collections have a in common that they are items where quality and comfort are paramount.
What is new is that the name is changed from Le Papillon into simply Papillon, a name that is more powerful and more friendly.

A new millennium


At this moment we are living in inspiring times again in the world of dance. TV shows likeSo You Think You Can Dance and Let’s Dance have given dancing an enormous boost again. Dancing is cool.