The National Gallery of Victoria has unpacked the first and most comprehensive major survey of Australian fashion to date, 200 Years of Australian Fashion. The exhibition will present more than 120 works from over 90 designers and celebrate Australia’s unique voice in the fashion industry.
Contemporary designers such as Akira, Richard Nylon, Ellery and Toni Maticevski, will be shown alongside standout designs from the last 200 years including what is thought to be Australia’s earliest known surviving dress (c1805), a glamorous 1950s blue feathered ball gown by Collins Street salon La Petite (pictured), a dress from Collette Dinnigan’s ground-breaking 1995 Paris runway show – she was the first Australian designer invited to show on-schedule at Paris Fashion Week as well as designs fom Prue Acton, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson.
Another highlight is a newly commissioned work by Dion Lee – it is over four metres tall and covered in Swarovski crystals.
The NGV has collected fashion and textiles for more than 120 years and boasts an outstanding collection of incredible breadth, quality and craftsmanship.
200 Years of Australian Fashion is on until 31 July 2016.
