Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo to be the focus of a new exhibition in Australia

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne_ Australia_ is bringing together British fashion legend Vivienne Westwood and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in a new fashion exhibition which will celebrate both designer_s “groundbreaking” work.

The exhibition_ titled _Westwood | Kawakubo__ will premiere on December 6_ 2025_ and run until April 19_ 2026_ and will feature more than 140 of the designer_s innovative designs_ exploring “the convergences and divergences between these two self-taught rebels of the fashion world”.

This will include key loans from London_s V&A Museum_ New York_s Metropolitan Museum_ Palais Galliera_ and the Vivienne Westwood archive_ alongside more than 100 pieces of works from the NGV Collection. The exhibition features more than 80 works that have recently entered the NGV Collection_ including nearly 40 works recently gifted to the NGV by Comme des Garçons_ especially for this exhibition.

Tony Ellwood_ director of the NGV_ said in a statement: “This exhibition celebrates two leading female fashion designers from different cultural backgrounds_ who both had strong creative spirits and pushed boundaries.

“Through more than 140 designs from the NGV Collection and key international loans_ Westwood | Kawakubo invites audiences to reflect on the enduring legacies of these groundbreaking designers and contemplate the ways in which fashion can be a vehicle for self-expression and freedom.”

National Gallery of Victoria to host exhibition dedicated to Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo

The _Westwood | Kawakubo_ exhibition will mark the first time both fashion designers_ who were born a year apart in different countries_ will have their work shown side-by-side_ even though both designers are celebrated globally for questioning conventions of taste_ gender and beauty_ as well as challenging the very form and function of clothing.

The NGV said the exhibition design will present the two distinct voices of Westwood and Kawakubo “as parallel yet fundamentally unique forces in fashion_” using symmetry as its cornerstone concept to showcase the designers “like left and right hands; symmetrical but not identical”.

The exhibition will be presented thematically_ exploring Westwood and Kawakubo_s practices across five themes_ from the mid-1970s to the present day_ sharing the multiple ways that both designers have each rewritten fashion conventions and codes during their careers. The themes include _Punk and Provocation__ exploring the impact and influence of the punk zeitgeist of the 1970s; _Rapture_ showcasing the unique design lexicons of Westwood and Kawakubo driven by the desire to break free of convention and reinvent the rules of dress; _Reinvention_ looking at the way both designers drew inspiration from historical fashion references; and _The Body: Freedom and Restraint_ exploring the designers experimental design methodologies and the interrogation of gender and the idealised body.

The final section of the exhibition_ _The Power of Clothes__ considers fashion as a tool to convey a message_ personal or political_ and the powerful individual female voice. It concludes with recent Westwood collections_ including Propaganda (autumn/winter 2025) and Chaos Point (autumn/winter 2008-2009)_ which utilise clothing and fabrics as a canvas for messaging about the environment_ social inequity of political freedoms in an echo of her early punk days. These are seen in context with the self-reflective power of Kawakubo_s recent collections_ Uncertain Future_ spring/summer 2025_ which express her emotional response to the state of the world.

Alongside the fashion_ the exhibition also features archival materials_ photography_ film and runway footage_ designed to offer audiences a deep insight into the minds and creative processes of these two legends of contemporary fashion.

Australia_s National Gallery of Victoria to bring together Westwood and Kawakubo in new exhibition

Major highlights from the exhibition will include a dramatic_ spotlit gallery showcasing how both designers have been influenced by fashion history_ featuring Westwood_s sweeping silk taffeta ball gowns inspired by 18th-century court dress presented alongside Kawakubo_s punk interpretations in pink vinyl and rich floral jacquard. Another display will juxtapose the bold_ red tartans_ English tweeds_ grey plaids and navy pinstripes of Kawakubo with Westwood_s iconic tailoring.

Other key looks include Westwood_s iconic punk ensembles from the late 1970s_ popularised by London bands such as The Sex Pistols and Siouxsie Sioux_ a romantic MacAndreas tartan gown from Westwood_s Anglomania collection (autumn/winter 1993-1994)_ famously worn by Kate Moss on the catwalk_ and the original version of the corseted wedding dress first shown in the Wake Up_ Cave Girl_ autumn-winter 2007-2008 collection_ which was later worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in _Sex and The City: The Movie_.

Key works designed by Kawakubo include a sculptural petal ensemble worn by Rihanna on the red carpet and dramatic abstract works that challenge the relationship between the body and clothing_ including the gingham sculptural designs from the Body Meets Dress - Dress Meets Body collection from spring/summer 1997.

Commenting on Australia hosting the groundbreaking exhibition_ Colin Brooks_ minister for Creative Industries in Australia_ added: “Westwood | Kawakubo builds on the NGV_s incredible track record of more than 50 jaw-dropping fashion exhibitions_ again celebrating the work and creativity of some of the world_s most iconic designers.

“With the largest and most significant fashion and textiles collection in the southern hemisphere_ the NGV is already a major drawcard for fashion lovers_ and this exhibition is set to attract visitors from far and wide.”