Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Guides History of costumesHard cover book entitled 'Costume" Colourful cover with illustrations of costumes by L. Rowland - WarneDiscover the history of costumes from ancient loinclothes & Roman Togas to bustles, Bonnet & Haute Couture.costumes through the ages

Scotty So is a multi-disciplinary artist who works across a range of media including photography, painting, sculpture, site-responsive installation, videos and drag performance. Driven by the thrill of camp, he explores the often-contradictory relationship between humour and sincerity, creating a scene of para-fiction through the manipulation of found objects and existing imageries in the living experience. Born and raised in Hong Kong, So’s work has been shown in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Europe. His work has been acquired for many collections, including the National Gallery of Australiastonnington contemporary art collection, scotty so, photography, haute couture, fashion, commodification, para-fiction, drag, performance

Scotty So is a multi-disciplinary artist who works across a range of media including photography, painting, sculpture, site-responsive installation, videos and drag performance. Driven by the thrill of camp, he explores the often-contradictory relationship between humour and sincerity, creating a scene of para-fiction through the manipulation of found objects and existing imageries in the living experience. Born and raised in Hong Kong, So’s work has been shown in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Europe. His work has been acquired for many collections, including the National Gallery of Australia.stonnington contemporary art collection, scotty so, photography, haute couture, fashion, commodification, para-fiction, drag, performance

Hartnell of Melbourne was one of Australia's premier high-end fashion houses of the 1950s and 1960s, renowned for its dramatic, heavily embellished evening wear and cocktail dresses. Established in 1945 by Melbourne-born designer Ralph Samuel, who had trained as a jeweller prior to serving in World War II, the label brought a sense of Old Hollywood glamour and European haute couture sophistication to the booming post-war Australian fashion scene. Despite early struggles with strict post-war fabric quotas and a massive workshop fire in 1952, Samuel's signature style excelled in intricate hand-beading, structured corsetry, and the fluid draping of luxury silks. This floor-length Hartnell of Melbourne evening gown is crafted from a light-beige silk fabric that falls into a column-style silhouette. The centerpiece of the design is an ornate, Art Deco-inspired bib neckline featuring a scoop collar bordered by metallic hand-beading. Positioned directly below the collar is a prominent diamond-shaped motif constructed from rows of gold and bronze glass beads, which anchor cascading rows of delicate tube-beaded fringe that drape down the front torso in a dramatic, V-shaped pattern. While the centre front of the gown remains smooth and unconstructed through the waist, the lateral sides feature dense, fine vertical pleating that begins beneath the arms and expands outward toward the floor. fashion - melbourne - 1970s, hartnell of melbourne, evening dresses

This garment reflects the apex of the Australian "Youthquake" movement between 1967 and 1968. During this tight window, international mod influences from London's Carnaby Street fused heavily with local Australian manufacturing. Melbourne emerged as the absolute epicenter of the nation's revolutionary ready-to-wear "rag trade," led by visionary young designers who rebelled against traditional haute couture. Kenneth Pirrie, starting his label in 1959, became a crucial vanguard of this shift. By 1967, Pirrie was heavily commissioning his own exclusive textile prints—capitalizing on newly popularized, easy-to-launder synthetic crepes, crimplenes, and lightweight blends that mirrored the fast-paced, modern lifestyles of younger working women. The high collar and structured button-front design seen here explicitly capture the brief design transition where military tailoring elements met bright, counter-culture psychedelia.This coat dress stands as a stellar, physically intact index of mid-century Australian fashion innovation. It documents a pivotal socio-cultural era when locally manufactured ready-to-wear labels successfully captured and redirected global youth subcultures specifically for the domestic market. The piece demonstrates the high-caliber printmaking and structured garment construction that earned Kenneth Pirrie national acclaim. It provides an excellent material baseline of the late-1960s shift away from structural, monochromatic mod toward organic, vivid flower-power palettes. The dress, owned by Melbourne architect, Dione McIntyre, possesses exceptional local provenance. It highlights the local domestic and commercial history of Kew and greater Melbourne, recording what the fashion-conscious public actually bought, wore, and preserved during a period of massive industry transformationAn A-line, knee-length woman’s garment designed to function as a standalone dress or light structured coat. The piece is constructed from a dark base fabric featuring a densely populated, screen-printed psychedelic floral motif. The pattern exhibits stylized white, pink, magenta, and purple blossoms with golden-yellow centers, typifying the iconic "flower power" aesthetic of the late sixties. The garment features a structured, high Nehru collar closing directly down a central front-button placket. It has tailored, long inset sleeves terminating in clean cuffs, a fitted torso that gently flares outward from the hips into a minimalist A-line skirt, and an overall sharp, geometric silhouette.Label: Kenneth Pirriekenneth pirrie, women's clothing, australian fashion - 1970s, mcintyre collection, day wear, coat dresses