One of the most prolific designers of his generation, Alexander McQueen’s work often delved into unexpected corners of history, including the life of his ancestor Elizabeth Howe – executed during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 – and Joan of Arc, the French saint who was tried for witchcraft two and a half centuries earlier.
In an exclusive talk for NGV Members, Lucianne Tonti, journalist and author of Good Witch: In search of our lost feminine power, examines the themes that overlap throughout the witch hunts and McQueen’s work – the authority’s discomfort with powerful women, the mystical elements of fashion design, the ritualistic nature of textile work, and the enduring hold magic and myth has on our (and McQueen’s) imaginations.
Following the presentation, Tonti will participate in a Q&A with Katie Somerville, NGV Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles.
Lucianne Tonti is the fashion editor of The Saturday Paper and the sustainability editor at large for Elle Australia and a contributor to The Guardian where her column Closet Clinic has been read over 9 million times. Her first book Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion was published in 2022. It is currently being developed into a docuseries by Tilt Media. Her new book, Good Witch was published by Summit Books in July.
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: Westwood | Kawakubo (2025), 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).