Vivienne Westwood birthed British punk in the 1970s and brought that fearless, provocative voice to high fashion when she began designing clothes in the early 80s. Unapologetically bold, her designs continuously pushed the boundaries. This blockbuster exhibition in Melbourne presents an unprecedented pairing of Westwood (who died in 2022) and the Japanese avant-garde designer Rei Kawakubo. The comparison, says curator Katie Somerville, shows a “lovely symmetry” in the lives and practices of these contemporaries. Both women revolutionized fashion through radical experimentation. The show is curated according to their historical influences, and lets viewers see work that appalled as well as appealed. —Frankie Budworth