One for the diary: I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, as the National Gallery of Victoria holds one of the most important collections of Australian fashion in the country. From their website:

The first major survey of Australian fashion will present more than 120 works from over 90 designers and celebrate Australia’s unique voice in the fashion industry.

Alongside works by contemporary designers, such as Akira, Richard Nylon, Ellery and Toni Maticevski, the exhibition will showcase standout designs from the last 200 years including Australia’s earliest known surviving dress (c1805), a glamorous 1950s blue feathered ball gown by Collins Street salon La Petite (pictured), and a dress from Collette Dinnigan’s ground-breaking 1995 Paris runway show, where she became the first Australian designer invited to show on-schedule at Paris Fashion Week.

What: 200 Years of Australian Fashion exhibition
When: 5 Mar 16 – 31 Jul 16 , 10pm to 5pm daily
Where: NGV Australia, Federation Square, Melbourne
Cost: see the NGV site for ticketing information.
More information: see the NGV site.

Gown by La Petite, circa 1950s. I really do wonder how they clean beautiful pieces like this one and it should look wonderful on display.