Jacket, toga dress, stockings
1982 {Nostalgia of mud (Buffalo) collection, autumn-winter 1982–83}
Medium
suede, wool, cotton (jersey) and plastic (fastenings)
Measurements
(a) 60.0 cm (centre back) 55.0 cm (sleeve length) (jacket)
(b) 250.0 cm (centre back) 35.0 cm (sleeve length) (toga dress)
(c-d) 79.0 × 18.0 cm (stockings) (each)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift Program, 2025
Gallery location
Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International
About this work
In an era of widespread global sampling and appropriation, Westwood’s early 1980s collections actively drew on numerous cross-cultural references. Westwood sought to broaden fashion’s terms of reference along class and geographic lines. From Matisse cut-outs and ancient Grecian togas to patterns, fabrics and construction techniques from West African, Native American, Peruvian, Rastafarian and Dominican sources, these collections were a deliberate rejection of the very Anglocentric references that she would later embrace.