Emerging in the 1970s, both rebelled against rigid social expectations to find artistic and economic freedom through fashion. Self-taught iconoclasts who challenged the ‘rules’ of dress, their work is grounded in the desire for change. Throughout their careers, Westwood and Kawakubo have reframed ideas of beauty, gender and the relationship between body and garment through their rejection of fashion norms. By experimenting with cut, form and function, each designer has reimagined the traditions of tailoring and dressmaking. Today, their material, technical and conceptual innovations continue to disrupt the status quo and shape the way we dress.

Bringing together over 140 works from the NGV Collection with selected important loans from international museums, Westwood Heritage archive and private collections, Westwood’s and Kawakubo’s work is placed into dialogue, highlighting how their shared concerns, contrasting philosophies and distinctive design methodologies have profoundly transformed contemporary fashion.