The National Gallery of Victoria is preparing to follow its record-breaking Yayoi Kusama show with another major cultural event - a world-first fashion exhibition pairing two of design's most revolutionary figures.
Fashion Rebels Take Melbourne
Opening on December 7, 2025 and running until April 19, 2026, 'Westwood | Kawakubo' brings together British designer Vivienne Westwood and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo in what promises to be the summer's most talked-about exhibition. The announcement sent ripples through global fashion circles when revealed in July, marking the first time any gallery has attempted to showcase these two rebellious titans together.
NGV curators Katie Somerville and Danielle Whitfield have been developing the groundbreaking exhibition, which follows the unprecedented success of last year's Yayoi Kusama show - the most attended ticketed art exhibition in Australian history. Nearly 150 works will be displayed, split proportionally between both designers.
Radical Visions: Two Design Philosophies
Born just one year apart, both self-taught designers emerged during the 1970s from completely different cultural contexts. Westwood's deeply British approach used historical references and political commentary as rebellion, while Kawakubo's Japanese perspective filtered design through abstract, minimalist lenses with philosophical underpinnings.
'The key thesis of the exhibition is that these two women are independent practitioners who have always used fashion to speak about women's conditions in society,' explains Danielle Whitfield. 'They've done so with an underlying radicalism aimed at changing how we think about dress.'
The NGV has been building its collection of both designers' works since the late 1990s. 'Westwood became a focus about five or six years ago, before we even knew we were doing the show,' reveals Katie Somerville. In a major coup, Kawakubo's Comme des Garçons will contribute 43 incredible pieces to the exhibition.
Thematic Journey Through Fashion Revolution
Rather than a chronological display, the exhibition organizes around powerful themes including:
- Punk & Provocation
- Rupture
- Reinvention
- The Body
- The Power of Clothes
Visitors will encounter iconic pieces like Westwood's revolutionary corset designs that moved the garment from lingerie to everyday wear, including looks from her autumn-winter 1987 and 1995 collections. A major highlight promises to be the brand's 1993 Anglomania wedding dress famously worn by Kate Moss.
Meanwhile, Kawakubo's work challenges conventional body shapes with designs featuring 'protruding lumps and bumps in places where they're not supposed to be' - creations that initially sparked controversy but ultimately expanded fashion's possibilities.
While Westwood was famously outspoken, Kawakubo operates at the other end of the spectrum - a reclusive designer who lets her clothes speak volumes. Recent collections like 'Lamentation' directly respond to global crises including the war in Ukraine and LGBTQI+ rights issues.
Tickets for Westwood | Kawakubo range from $18 to $98 and are available for booking through the NGV website. The exhibition represents not just a fashion showcase but a dialogue between two fierce disruptors whose parallel waves of radicalism continue to shape contemporary design.
