Exhibition preview: Shoe Heaven, Central Museum, Southend-on-Sea, until June 29 2013

Exhibition launches are usually the stuff of photoshoots and faces twinkling merrily above champagne glasses.

Southend’s newest opening, though, resulted in a series of shots zooming in on 1940s dancing shoes, heels under fluffy bows and funky looking Rocket Dogs.

And it’s about to get even more popular. During half-term, a giant shoe used by Katy Perry when the prop princess sprawled inside it at the 2009 MTV awards, is on display.

Kimberley Walsh, the Girls Aloud singer more recently idolised for her performances on BBC's prime-time hit Strictly Come Dancing, also posed in it for the band’s Out of Control arena hop.

For those keen on more classic examples there is also plenty of historic footwear on show such as shipwrecked Elizabethan sailors’ boots and a 17th century slap sole shoe - one of only a few surviving examples in the world.

The exhibition, which traces an arc of shoemaking and cobbling from the 14th to the 21st century also boasts a series of accompanying events including a pamper night, a raffle offering £150 in shoe vouchers and a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s shoe stores.

• Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm. Admission free. Follow the museum on Twitter @SouthendMuseums.

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