National Gallery Victoria Hosts Westwood Kawakubo Exhibition

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne is set to host a groundbreaking exhibition titled 'Westwood | Kawakubo' from December 7, 2025, to April 19, 2026, featuring over 140 designs by the late Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. This will be the first major institutional pairing of these two self-taught designers, who revolutionized fashion through their provocative and avant-garde styles, challenging norms related to beauty, gender, and garment construction. The exhibition explores themes such as Punk and Provocation, Rupture, Reinvention, The Body, and The Power of Clothes, highlighting how both designers reshaped the fashion industry despite their distinct aesthetics. Iconic pieces include Westwood's punk outfits and Sarah Jessica Parker's wedding gown from Sex and the City, alongside Kawakubo's Met Gala dress worn by Rihanna and recent runway collections, many of which were gifted to NGV by Kawakubo herself. The show follows NGV's record-breaking Yayoi Kusama exhibition and aims to continue its legacy of attracting large audiences by celebrating these two fashion icons who built influential careers in a male-dominated industry. Curators emphasize the designers' shared philosophy of rule-breaking and innovation, making this exclusive Melbourne exhibition a significant cultural event.