After a successful exhibition at Westfield, London showcasing shoes from the shoe collection at Northampton Museums and Art Galleries the Royal Exchange in London has joined forces with Northampton Museum and Art Gallery to create ‘My Favourite Shoe’, a ground breaking exhibition showcasing leading shoe designers from the UK which runs from 3 to 7 February 2014.
My Favourite Shoe explores how vintage shoes inspire and influence contemporary designers. The exhibition showcases some of the most exciting contemporary shoe brands and designers working in UK, including Harry’s of London, Pretty Ballerinas, Crocket and Jones. Each designer has selected a favourite shoe from Northampton Museums and Art Gallery’s world famous shoe collection and paired it with one of their own shoe designs, illustrating the link between current shoe design and vintage designs.
The pop-up is part of a wider drive – dubbed The Cinderella Syndrome – to raise awareness of the Northampton shoe heritage collection and make it accessible to new audiences by taking items from the collection into non-museum venues. It has been made possible thanks to an Arts Council England funding award of £47,000 to Northampton Borough Council’s museum service.
To find out more about the Cinderella project and displaying shoes in Museums go to http://www.northampton.gov.uk/thecinderellasyndrome.
This challenging project involved exploring best practise to take museum collections out of the museum environment into high end fashion shopping centres in London and historic houses in Northamptonshire.
Councillor David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, said: “Northampton was once the shoemaking capital of England and still today we are home to some of the finest shoemakers in the world.
“We are also home to the nation’s finest and largest collection of shoes and shoe heritage which is recognised for its national and international significance. By reaching out to different audiences in non-museum venues we hope to raise awareness of our amazing collection and attract new visitors to our town.”
