“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.”
Tony Ellwood AM, NGV Director.
Westwood | Kawakubo: Where Two Fashion Rebels Unite.
Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo never followed the thread- they unravelled it, rewove it, and dared us to call it fashion. When fashion demanded beauty, they gave it rebellion; when it begged for rules, they tore them apart.
Opening 7 December 2025, Westwood | Kawakubo at the National Gallery of Victoria brings together two of the most influential- and iconoclastic- designers of the last century: the late British provocateur Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022) and Japan’s avant-garde visionary Rei Kawakubo (b. 1942), founder of Comme des Garçons.
Born just one year apart, yet worlds away in geography and cultural context, both women shattered the boundaries of fashion, redefining notions of taste, gender, beauty, and even the very structure of clothing. Through more than 140 garments, drawn from international loans and over 100 works from the NGV Collection- including almost 40 gifted by Comme des Garçons specifically for this exhibition- visitors will witness their radical visions side by side.
“This exhibition celebrates two leading female fashion designers from different cultural backgrounds, who both had strong creative spirits and pushed boundaries,” says NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM. “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.”
Top:
Vivienne Westwood, London(fashion house),Vivienne Westwood (designer) Outfits from the Portrait collection, autumn–winter 1990–91 (detail). 116 Pall Mall, London, March 1990. Photo © John van Hasselt / Sygma via Getty Images. Models: Susie Bick & Denice D. Lewis
Left:
- World’s End, London(fashion house), Vivienne Westwood (designer), Malcolm McLaren (designer) Outfit from the Nostalgia of Mud collection, autumn–winter1982–83. Pillar Hall, Olympia, London, 24 March 1982. Photo ©Robyn Beeche World’s End, London (fashion house), Vivienne Westwood (designer), Malcolm McLaren (designer) Outfits from the Pirate collection, autumn–winter 1981–82.Pillar Hall, Olympia, London, 31March 1981. Photo © Robyn Beeche
- Comme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 9, from the 2 Dimensions collection, autumn–winter 2012.Paris, 3 March 2012. Image © Comme des Garçons. Model: Henna Lintukangas
- Comme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 9, from the 2 Dimensions collection, autumn–winter 2012. Paris, 3 March 2012. Image © Comme des Garçons. Model: Henna LintukangasComme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 28, from the 2 Dimensions collection, autumn–winter 2012. Paris, 3 March 2012.Image © Comme des Garçons.
“This exhibition celebrates two leading female fashion designers from different cultural backgrounds, who both had strong creative spirits and pushed boundaries.”
Tony Ellwood AM, NGV Director.
The thematic presentation charts their work from the mid-1970s to today, spanning punk rebellion, historical reinvention, and sculptural abstraction. Visitors will encounter Westwood’s safety pin-pierced punk looks of the late ’70s, her romantic Anglomania tartan gown worn by Kate Moss, and the corseted wedding dress immortalised by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City: The Movie. Kawakubo’s equally defiant creations include her petal-shaped ensemble worn by Rihanna to the Met Gala, the gingham-padded silhouettes from Body Meets Dress – Dress Meets Body (1997), and the conceptual layering of Invisible Clothes (2017).
The staging underscores the designers’ parallels and divergences, with symmetrical galleries presenting Westwood’s sweeping 18th-century silk ball gowns alongside Kawakubo’s punk-inflected vinyl reinterpretations, and tartan tailoring facing off against Japanese deconstruction.
The Victorian Government has hailed the show as a major cultural drawcard. “The NGV’s summer blockbuster exhibition is one of the most anticipated events on the Gallery’s calendar,” says Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos. “Since these exhibitions began in 2013, visitation has more than doubled, highlighting the incredible appetite for cultural experiences over the summer period among both Victorians and visitors alike.”
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks adds, “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.”
Running until 19 April 2026 at NGV International, Westwood | Kawakubo is poised to be one of the summer’s defining cultural moments- an unapologetically bold dialogue between two women who not only broke the rules of fashion, but rewrote them entirely.
For more information, visit ngv.vic.com.au.
Left:
- Vivienne Westwood, London (fashion house), Vivienne Westwood (designer) Outfit from the Anglomania collection, autumn-winter 1993–94. Photo © Sheridan Morley via Shutterstock. Model: Naomi Campbell
- Comme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 1, from the Blue Witch collection, spring–summer2016. Paris, 3 October 2015. Image ©Comme des Garçons. Model: Maja Brodin
- Comme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 5, from the Break Free collection, spring–summer 2024.Paris, 30 September 2023. Image ©Comme des Garçons. Model: Hannah Heise
- Comme des Garçons, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei Kawakubo (designer) Look 4, from the Blood and Roses collection, spring–summer 2015. Paris, 27 September 2014. Image © Comme des Garçons. Model: Andrea Hrncirova