Historical information

The extensive fashion and design collection of the Kew Historical Society has been assembled over a number of decades. One subsection of this collection is shoes, designed and manufactured for Australian women by Australian and European designers. Many of the shoes, while often mass-produced, were generally constructed by skilled artisans using traditional shoe-making techniques. The shoes date from the 1890s to the 1980s. These shoes were owned, worn and donated to the collection by Annie 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

Black satin and velvet evening shoes, by Enrico Coveri. The shoes were purchased by Annie McIntyre and worn with her Martin Grant outfit in 1985 at her 21st birthday party. The shoes, donated by Annie McIntyre, form part of the McIntyre family collection.

Inscriptions & markings

A note by Dione McIntyre, describing the outfit, of which this item is a part reads:
"Martin Grant outfit, including black satin and velvet shoes. Martin Grant was originally from Melbourne, now internationally and renowned and designing and living in Paris. The outfit was worn by Annie McIntyre on her 21st birthday, 1985"