US-based fashion historian and co-host of Dressed: The History of Fashion podcast, April Calahan joins us in Melbourne for an exclusive talk on the history of haute couture to celebrate the release of the NGV’s latest book – Observations: Dress in Art & Design History.
Despite a history dating back more than 150 years, the hallowed halls of haute couture remain shrouded in mystery to most. Join us as we trace the haute couture industry’s origins in nineteenth century Paris through to the present day.
April Calahan will crack open the closet of the NGV’s Fashion and Textile Collection to reveal the stories behind the Gallery’s rare and exceptional haute couture holdings and shine a light on the importance of fashion in museum and gallery collections.
Observations: Dress in Art & Design History is the third volume in NGV’s Observations series. Writers, scholars and curators from around the world explore over 400 years of fashion history across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas in a series of edited transcripts following the 2024 online talks series of the same name.
Speaker
April Calahan is an art and fashion historian, writer and professional podcaster living and working in New York City. She is the co-host of the podcast Dressed: The History of Fashion, which she created with her friend and fellow fashion historian Cassidy Zachary to celebrate the who, what, when and why we wear throughout history and around the world. For more than a decade April served as a Special Collections curator at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she also taught in the History of Art department. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, The New York Times and The Guardian. She has lectured at cultural institutions around the world including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Yale University, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and Parsons School of Design.
Access
Everyone is welcome at the NGV. We offer a range of accessible resources, facilities, and events. For information, visit our Access webpage or contact us via email at programs@ngv.vic.gov.au or phone; 8620 2222 between 9am-5pm.
Auslan interpretation available on request. Please email your request to programs@ngv.vic.gov.au, allowing a minimum of one week’s notice.
Presented as part of the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Independent Programme.
