On display at NGV International until April 2026, this world-first exhibition brings together Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo to explore how two radical designers reshaped global fashion
Fashion may be about following trends, but Vivienne Westwood (1941 – 2022) and Rei Kawakubo (b.1942), of Comme des Garçons, became legends by rejecting such notions. Both challenged conventions of taste, gender and beauty through their work.
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) unites these two icons in a world-first exhibition. This rare event examines how the two women, whose parallels are evident despite living and working worlds apart, managed to change fashion forever.
Westwood is perhaps the more widely known of the two. Initially renowned for punk ensembles popularised by London bands and her pirate-inspired collections, she also reinvented historical fashion and introduced tartan and tweed to the high-end mainstream.
Kawakubo, on the other hand, is notoriously elusive, preferring her “anti-fashion” designs to speak for themselves. Clashing patterns, black and distressed fabrics, and the exaggerated “lumps and bumps” that distort the human body are central to her designs.
Although the self-taught designers have wildly different approaches, they are united in their spirit of rebellion.
Loans from Kawakubo, private collectors and international museums sit alongside more than 100 works from the NGV collection. Archival material, including photography and film from fashion shows, provides additional insight.
Visitors move through a series of contrasting spaces containing works arranged across five themes: Punk and Provocation; Rupture; Reinvention; The Body: Freedom and Restraint; and The Power of Clothes.
The exhibition is a sensory feast. One gallery envelops visitors in an all-red space, with deep, pulsing bass synced to flashing lights. A stark white room features leather, chains and mirrors in a brash ode to the runway. Elsewhere, lights, pedestals and reflective surfaces create the illusion of floating forms in a sleek purple space.
Serious devotees of fashion and design are rewarded alongside pop culture fans. The original runway version of the ivory silk “cloud” wedding dress famously worn by Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City: The Movie is on display, along with garments worn by Kate Moss, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Westwood | Kawakubo is on display until 19 April 2026 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Entry fees apply, and a selection of exclusive merchandise is available for purchase. Tickets and further information are available at ngv.vic.gov.au.
