Acquired by the NGV from 2015 with the support of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty, in memory of her late husband Harold Campbell-Pretty, The Campbell-Pretty Fashion Research Collection is an acknowledgment of the growing importance of archival resources within museums today. Diverse in scope, the holdings comprise designer workbooks and sketches, studio drawings, collection guides, client books, documentary and editorial photographs, fashion publications, embroidery samples and press clippings.
The Collection highlights the way in which design is both a process and a system. Sketches and workbooks show the evolution of creative ideas and their execution, while the various forms of fashion media (illustration, photography and publishing) reveal the subsequent dissemination of imagery and information to audiences internationally. Housed within the NGV’s Research Collection and Archive, The Campbell-Pretty Fashion Research Collection is a growing and significant resource for the NGV Fashion and Textiles collection and a rich repository for those interested in design history.