A recent addition to the International Fashion and Textile collection is a pair of Rayne shoes from 1954. These glitter encrusted shoes were worn by Mrs. Elsie McIntosh to the City of Melbourne Ball in honour of the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh at the Exhibitions Building on 2 March 1954. Purchased directly from Georges, they were worn with a beige dress of guipure lace and accompanied by a tiara. Along with the shoes, the NGV has also acquired the tiara and program for the Ball.
The maker of the shoes, Rayne, designed elegant shoes, and by the 1950s had received three royal warrants. In 1936, Rayne was granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Mary- an honour that was repeated by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and then again by our present Queen, whose wedding shoes were made for her by Rayne in 1947. In addition, Rayne made shoes for Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, Princess Diana, and even Wallis Simpson, wife of the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII).