Kabuki dress
autumn 1963
- Medium
- wool
- Measurements
- 58.5 cm (centre back) 71.0 cm (sleeve length)
- Accession Number
- 2016.180
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Bulgari Australia Pty Ltd, 2017
© Public Domain
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest - Gallery location
- Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International - About this work
-
This dress is one of American designer Rudi Gernreich’s key designs, informed by his early career as a dancer and costume designer. Gernreich became interested in developing non-restrictive and avant-garde clothing for women in the late 1950s. His innovative designs reflect an uninhibited view of sexuality and gender. Influenced by the agronomy of the kimono, Gernreich launched his unisex line at Japan’s first international exhibition, Expo ’70, in Osaka. The Kabuki dress highlights his interest in functionality, combining vibrant Op-Art patterning that draws on the aesthetic tastes of eighteenth-century Kabuki theatre costumes.