Members are invited to join NGV Senior Curator Katie Somerville and exhibition designer Peter King for an exclusive introduction to Westwood | Kawakubo, the NGV’s world-premiere summer blockbuster exhibition that pairs two global icons of the fashion world, British designer Vivienne Westwood and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo.
Through a showstopping display of more than 140 innovative and ground-breaking designs, Westwood | Kawakubo explores the convergences and divergences between these two self-taught rebels of the fashion world.
Members can learn about the curatorial approach and exhibition design behind this major exhibition, ahead of the exhibition opening on 7 December at NGV International.
Please note your ticket to this Members Talk does not include entry to Westwood | Kawakubo. Exhibition tickets sold separately.Purchase an exhibition ticket
About the Speaker
Katie Somerville is the Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Katie has worked with a range of fashion and textiles collections for three decades, including at the National Gallery of Australia and Historic Houses Trust of NSW. She joined the curatorial department at the NGV in 1995, working across both the Australian and International collection. She currently manages the research and development of the Fashion and Textiles collection and the Campbell-Pretty Fashion Research Collection along with the ongoing program of publications and exhibitions for the Fashion and Textiles Department. During her time at the NGV Katie has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions including: Martin Grant (2025), Alexander McQueen, Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022) presented in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture (2017), Making the Australian Quilt:1800-1950 (2016), Express Yourself: Romance Was Born for Kids (2014), Melbourne Now (2013), ManStyle: Men + Fashion (2011), Together Alone: Australian and New Zealand Fashion (2009), and Akira Isogawa: Printemps-Été (2004).