1. Edward Rayne served on the boards of Debenhams and Harvey Nichols and was a high-profile ambassador for British fashion; he was chair of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers and its successor the British Fashion Council, as well as working for numerous other trade and industry bodies.
Edward Rayne did much to place London Fashion Week on the international map; his Guardian obituary said: "If any single man persuaded American fashion buyers and correspondents to take London Fashion Week seriously, it was Rayne".
Joseph Edward Rayne was heir to the shoe side of the family business, which was founded in 1889 as a theatrical costumier by Henry and Mary Edward Rayne and located close to The Old Vic.
Edward Rayne was educated at Harrow School but left at the age of 16 because his eyesight was threatened by cataracts in both eyes.
Joseph Rayne died in 1952 and, at the age of 29, Edward Rayne became chairman of the family firm.
Edward Rayne had inherited a company that was very much part of the British society dress code.
Edward Rayne expanded the Rayne business in the early 1960s, beginning an association with Genesco in the United States and buying a 49 per cent stake in the British company of John Plant and its subsidiary Butlers.
Edward Rayne was, by then both chair and associate member of the group of elite London couturiers.
Edward Rayne was appointed a member of the Export Council for Europe in 1961.
Edward Rayne enlisted the help of leading stage designer Oliver Messel for the new Delman shoe store that opened in Old Bond Street in 1960.
An article by Alison Settle in The Observer noted that: "Mr Messel and Mr Edward Rayne are at one in thinking that shoes to buy should be as easy to see and handle as books in a library".
Edward Rayne continued the Rayne brand's reputation for luxury; Princess Margaret's white satin wedding shoes were all Rayne models.
Edward Rayne continued to work with haute couture brands in both the UK and overseas.
Edward Rayne was designing shoes for other French designers, including Nina Ricci and Lanvin, while in the UK it had recruited designers such as Bill Gibb.
In 1975, Rayne was sold to the department-store chain Debenhams, at which point Edward Rayne joined the boards of Debenhams and Harvey Nichols.
Debenhams was sold to Burton Group in 1985, and two years later Edward Rayne was acquired by the businessman David Graham.
Edward Rayne then resigned and focused on his other roles.
Edward Rayne continued to act as a consultant to Harvey Nichols.
Edward Rayne was active in various national industry bodies, notably serving on the Export Council of Europe between 1962 and 1971 and the Franco British Council between 1980 and 1988.
Edward Rayne was active too within industry-specific bodies, serving as president of the British Footwear Manufacturers' Association and the British Boot and Shoe Institution.
Edward Rayne was a natural fit for chair of the British Fashion Council.
Edward Rayne was killed in a fire at his home in Bexhill, East Sussex on 7 February 1992.
Edward Rayne was held in affection by the British couturiers he promoted.
Edward Rayne shoes are held in several archives, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.