Fashion Redux at Melbourne Museum

The Museums Victoria’s fashion collection has tens of thousands of pieces that are usually out of view, Fashion Redux allowed Curator Michael Reason and the collaborators: Designers Nixi Killick, Kristy Dickinson of Haus of Dizzy and ALPHA60s' Alex and Georgie Cleary, stylists Kate Gaskin and Ntombi Moyo, milliner Melissa Jackson, costumier Marion Boyce, couturiers Antony Pittorino and Jacob Luppino of J'Aton and social media entrepreneurs Jess and Steph Dadon of How Two Live, the opportunity to forage the collection and choose items to reinterpret, shine a light on the past and show how today’s fashion narratives are linked with those of the past. 

Museums Victoria collects fashion items in all of its guises. Items made for work, play, concealment and for celebration, have all found a home in our stores. A complete history of what we wear day and night, the fads and the fashions; but look closer and you will see clues of what was happening in society at the time of their creation. As well as documenting human experiences, the Museum’s Collection belongs to all Victorian's and is a resource for them to use.

The collection is often used by artists as a source of inspiration for their work. Like, milliner Melissa Jackson explains, her choice of selecting equestrian items from the first half of the 20^th century to create a quirky collection that reflected her fascination with racing fashion.

“Racing fashion is unique for its ‘top-to-toe’ styling – it is the only form of fashion these days, where the accessories are just as important as the clothing. From the Melbourne Museum archive, I was excited to bring together this eclectic mix of ‘top-to-toe’ items - each piece with its own exceptional design detail and bespoke feel.”

In this series of videos, the artists talk about their approach, their impressions of the store and what it was like working with these reflections from the past.