Iconoclastic fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo will both feature in a blockbuster exhibition.
The National Gallery of Victoria show, which opens in December, pairs the two influential designers for the first time.
Westwood, from the UK, helped define the punk aesthetic, while Japanese designer Kawakubo dramatically subverted ideas about garment shape and functionality.
"These two women challenged conventions for beauty, taste and gender through their designs, and established a lasting legacy of fashion history that continues to inspire meaning today," said gallery director Tony Ellwood.
Westwood | Kawakubo follows the institution's record-breaking Kusama exhibition last summer, which attracted more than 570,000 people.
Both designers were self taught and were born a year apart, Westwood in 1941 and Kawakubo in 1942.
The show opens with Westwood's revolutionary punk outfits from the 1970s, such as the bondage trousers and parachute jackets worn by London bands like The Sex Pistols.
There are also designs from more recent eras of popular culture, including Westwood's runway version of Carrie Bradshaw’s wedding dress from the Sex and the City movie, and a Comme des Garçons outfit worn by pop singer Rhianna on the Met Gala red carpet.
Kawakubo has given dozens of garments to the NGV for the exhibition, including the Met Gala dress, and designs from the Comme des Garçons 2025 Spring Summer runway collection.
Westwood | Kawakubo will open at NGV International from December 7.
