COMME DES GARÇONS, Tokyo (fashion house)
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National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Presented through the NGV Foundation by Takamasa Takahashi, 2009 Australia
est. 1969. Rei KAWAKUBO (designer). born Japan 1942. Dress 1997 spring-summer. cotton, polyester, nylon tulle. 122.0 cm (centre back length) 47.4 cm (waist, flat).
Drape: Classical Mode to Contemporary Dress
NGV International
Wednesday 02 December 2009 to Sunday 27 June 2010
This exhibition, drawn from the NGV Collection, will feature fashion, sculpture, painting, decorative arts and photography to explore the practice of draping cloth on the body.
In classical Greece and Rome, the wearing of uncut cloth was developed into a complex art of wrapping and tying. In the late nineteenth century, the structured nature of women’s fashion was relieved by the draping of cloth over crinolines and bustles.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Madeleine Vionnet used the bias cut with her innovative methods of construction to create new prototypes. Contemporary designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Hussein Chalayan have created works that reference the history of drape while extending the boundaries of fashion.
Free entry
