Vivienne Westwood’s Super Elevated Ghillies
Shoes as we know can make or break an outfit, and now we have access to the world's leading collection of shoe heritage. The perfect place to look for some inspiration.
Northampton Museum & Art Gallery, home to the world’s leading collection of shoe heritage, is to be officially reopened today following a major refurbishment project totalling £310,000.
The Northampton Museum & Art Gallery shoe collection totals 12,000 pairs, dating from 1620 to the present day.
Some of the highlight pieces include:
Vivienne Westwood’s Super Elevated Ghillies (the style that caused Naomi Campbell’s downfall in 1993)
The shoes Queen Victoria wore on her wedding day
The stilts in the shape of a pair of Doc Martens made for Elton John to wear in the Pinball Wizard sequence in the film of ‘Tommy, A Rock Opera’
The collection, which is free to visit, includes 12,000 pairs of shoes dating back to 1620. As well as high fashion items and shoes with an historical interest, the collection is also home to quirky and bizarre footwear such as a boot made for an elephant, tribal crocodile shoes and examples of ‘concealed shoes’, shoes hidden in old buildings as a good luck ritual, which date from as far back as the 15th century.
Northamptonshire, which has a long association with high-end shoe making, was recently confirmed as the location for the International Footwear Foundation, a collaboration between a range of bodies to support the modern-day leather industry in the area. It will aim to improve access to the wealth of resources in the county, both amongst the global industry as well as the wider public.
Rob Purdie, Executive Director, Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership, which has supported the reopening of the museum and continues to work with the modern-day shoe and leather industries in Northamptonshire, comments: “The Northamptonshire footwear industry is globally unique and home to an unrivalled concentration of the world’s most respected, high end, handmade shoes including Church’s, Cheaney, Barker, John Lobb, Jones and Jeffery West.
“In addition, Northamptonshire's educational, scientific and technical expertise is recognised world-wide and our leather merchants work internationally supplying just the right kind of leather for some of the most demanding global brands. The industry flourishes today, and that’s why we’re celebrating the best of the past alongside leading new initiatives such as the launch of the International Footwear Foundation, which will support ancestral tourists and international visitors to understand the industry in the county as well as provide high quality educational and research facilities for contemporary designers, researchers and students.”
Councillor Brandon Eldred, Northampton Borough Council cabinet member responsible for museums, said: “The Northampton shoe collection is widely recognised as being the world’s largest and finest. Our shoe making industry is still going strong and our shoe designers and manufacturers are among the best in the world.”