Fashion exhibits coming to Victoria - on and off the field

11-17 Oct 2021. Cost: Price per event.

Style lovers rejoice, for the biggest fashion occasion in the country is here! Melbourne Fashion Week will run over 150 events, including runway shows, exhibitions and business partner pop-ups in spaces around the city and online. The City of Melbourne delivers the fashion experiences to ‘position Melbourne as the fashion capital of Australia’ while supporting the ‘vibrant fashion and retail community.’ Trend setters, assemble! 

5 Dec 2021 – 25 April 2022. Cost: From $10-$30. 

What many sartorial lovers have long been waiting for has been confirmed: the Chanel exhibit is finally coming to our shores. From December 2021, Melbourne’s NGV will be exclusively hosting ‘Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto,’ an exhibit that chronicles the fashion designer’s career from her very first boutique to her influence on modern-day women and designers worldwide.  

The exhibit’s first stop after Paris features over 100 garments from the House of Chanel ‘unfolded across several chronological and thematic sections,’ as well as her sketches, cosmetics, perfume and accessories as she became an icon of style for generations to come. As Coco Chanel once said, ‘Fashion fades. Only style remains the same.’ 

On until 26 Sep 2021. Cost: Free.

New York fashion icon Iris Apfel stated that the key to style is to ‘put your money into accessories. You could create a million different looks.’ This is celebrated approximately three hours out of Melbourne at Wangaratta’s Visitor Information Centre Community Exhibition Gallery. On display here and coming online is 'Accessorised for the Occasion', an exhibit showcasing the accessories made popular by the elite fashion set from the 1880s-1960s. Think bags, shoes, gloves and parasols from local collectors, with a focus on Wangaratta’s local retailers who were instrumental in sourcing fabrics and inspiration for the articles shown.

10 Dec 2021- 5 June 2022. Cost: Free.

TV’s new king of fashion, Queer Eye’s Tan France, states that ‘You being your true self isn't going to offend anybody.’ Whilst not solely focused on fashion, 'Queer' is designed to showcase queer stories through art - including fashion and design - as a form of expression, political movement and attitude. The exhibit features over 300 works from yesteryear to present times and is stated by the NGV to be ‘the most historically expansive thematic presentation of its kind ever presented by an Australian art institution.’

19 Oct – 9 Dec 2021. Cost: Price per event.

What a smashing, positively dashing, spectacle: the Ascot opening day!

A big one on many Victorian calendars, the Melbourne Cup Carnival has horse races, yes, but all clothes lovers will know that the most exciting part is the fashion!  

There’s plenty of fun for fashionistas to have at events around the state, such as Derby Day, which is strictly black and white themed, or Melbourne Cup Day, the ‘the race that stops a nation’,’ which features the boldest fashion and craziest headpieces. You could even consider entering the prestigious ‘Fashions on the Field' competition if your outfit is stunning enough to take the judges' breath away.