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APPRECIATE: The art of rebellion, reimagined.

If February is for rediscovering the city, this is where to start. Westwood | Kawakubo lands at the NGV as a world-premiere exhibition spanning five decades of uncompromising fashion, uniting two designers who never played by the rules and never needed to. Running through to 19 April, this exhibit explores different cultures and contexts through the lens of Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo, using fashion as a tool to question power, beauty and convention. Better still, the exhibition forms part of NGV Friday Nights, making it an easy end-of-week destination for those looking to swap their desk for something a little more exciting after work.

Thematically arranged around ideas such as Punk and Provocation, The Power of Clothes and Reinvention, the show draws from major international loans alongside recent NGV acquisitions. Westwood’s work charts the evolution of British punk through tartan, corsetry and exaggerated historical references, including pieces worn by Kate Moss and the iconic corseted wedding dress made famous by Sex and the City. Kawakubo’s contributions push form to its limits, with sculptural silhouettes, distorted proportions and conceptual garments worn by figures such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Placed side by side, Westwood’s sweeping silks and Kawakubo’s vinyl, gingham and jacquard create moments of sharp contrast and unexpected harmony. Together, they reveal fashion as an ongoing act of questioning rather than resolution. Accompanied by a world-first publication featuring leading fashion thinkers, Westwood | Kawakubo is less about nostalgia and more about the enduring power of creative defiance.