Historical information

Dorethy Rabinov’s Melbourne-based brand Ricki Reed "became an international success story. Her brand catered to “the petite and young, people who like smart simple dress” and popular with the women lib groups due to her comfortable smart pantsuits. The Ricki Reed’s brand often favored synthetic fabrics designed to keep up with the life of an active, busy woman. Through out the decades, Miss Rabinov dabbled in prairie gowns, tailored pant suits, bold colours and floral prints. Spanning over three decades Miss Rabinov kept Ricki Reed at the front of fashion, keeping ahead of trends and on the bodies of fashionistas." (Source: 'House of Darlington' website). This dress was owned, worn and donated by Dione McIntyre.

Significance

The McIntyre Collection of clothing and clothing accessories forms one of the largest single donations to our Fashion & Design collection. It includes clothing and clothing accessories worn by four women in the Cohen and McIntyre families across three generations. The items worn by Melbourne architect, and Kew resident, Dione McIntyre date from the 1960s and 1970s, and include evening wear, day wear, hats and shoes. As Dione McIntyre often accompanied her husband, fellow architect Peter McIntyre, to formal events, there are a number of pieces of evening wear among the items. The McIntyre Collection also includes items worn by women of an earlier generation: by Lilian Cohen, Dione McIntyre's mother, and by her mother-in-law, the wife of the architect Robert McIntyre. At the other end of the chronological spectrum are a number of outfits belonging to, worn and donated by Annie McIntyre. These include outfits created by notable late 20th century Australian and/or international fashion designers. The McIntyre Collection is significant historically and artistically as it includes examples of design that demonstrate changing tastes in fashion over an 80-year period. The collection is also significant in that it includes the work of a large number of Melbourne designers from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Physical description

Sleeveless embossed white cotton high waisted cocktail dress designed by Ricki Reed of Melbourne.

Inscriptions & markings

Nil