Amazing exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

Saturday March 9 was another lovely day with a high of 27C. The summer weather has been awesome though it does cool down nicely in the evenings. It is officially fall here and the leaves are beginning to change.

We started our day with a coffee at Duke's Coffee Roastery, where we had an excellent coffee earlier this week.

Alain with his flat white and a croissant treat

Interesting tiled wall near us

We headed down to the other side of the river to the Arts Centre to get some theatre tickets.

Walking across the river to Southbank and the Arts Centre

We stopped for a few moments to see a free performance by String Symphony, where people in the audience are asked to manipulate a giant puppet, named Leor, as one of the members of the company tells a story and directs the puppet's movements. Lots of fun. We stayed for 10 minutes and learned about Leor who reached for the stars.

Giving instructions

Raise hands please

We got tickets to see the world premiere of Arbus and West, a play about Diane Arbus and Mae West. We're going on Tuesday March 12.

We then went to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International. There are a number of free exhibits as well as a temporary paid exhibit for an Escher show.

Outside of NGV

We decided to see The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift exhibit, which a number of people had recommended. The exhibit featured over 200 garments and archival works of haute couture and Parisian fashion from the 1890s to the present day. In 2016, the NGV was able to acquire 'one of the world's most sought after fashion collections'. Valued at $1.4 million, it included 130 pieces from more than 30 different French designers from the late 1800s to 2003. The donation was from Melbourne philanthropist Krystyna Campbell-Pretty, who has subsequently donated more funds to acquire additional pieces for the gallery. She was a researcher and strategic management consultant alongside her late husband, Harold, in a very successful business providing strategic counsel to major multi-national organizations. The exhibition had just opened on March 1. It rivalled any show we have seen at the Met in NYC. All the dresses, photographs, journals and sketches were integrated in with furniture and paintings from the Gallery's permanent collection.

Dolce & Gabbana handbag 2017

Christian Dior - Maria Grazia Chiuri designer Resort 2019

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (b. 1949) Tunic 2012

More from Jean-Charles de Castelbajac -- with Gerrit Rietveld's famous Red-blue chair first produced in 1917.

The first few rooms of the exhibit had the clothes displayed with pieces from the Viennese Secession and Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) artists and designers, many whose work we know from the Neue Gallery in New York. Joseph Hoffmann, an architect and co-founder of the Vienna Secession in 1897 and the Wiener Werkstätte (founded in 1903), Adolf Loos and many of the other designers from this period were featured. It was an incredible collection on its own.

Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) Ensemble Look 40 1997

John Galliano (b. 1960), Look 5, suit 1995 (left suit) with Christian Dior (1905-1957) Cavaliere, suit 1948

Works from Wiener Werkstätte

Beautiful display of dresses and furniture and other works

Alexander McQueen, 2006 Look 33 for Widows of Culloden collection

Alexander McQueen with Steichen photo in background

There were a number of photos of the interiors of the Gallia apartment designed by Josef Hoffmann. Each room represented a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art)- every element from the light fixtures to the carpets were designed by Hoffman.

There is a fascinating story about the Gallia apartment. In 1912, Moriz and Hermine Gallia commissioned Josef Hoffman to design the interiors of five rooms in their apartment in Vienna. They were completed in 1913. Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in March 1938, their three children left Vienna, shipping everything in the apartment to Sydney, Australia. For the next 38 year a small flat held the contents of the Viennese apartment. Desirous that the furnishings remain in Australia, the family approached the NGV, which acquired the majority of their works. Today the NGV's Gallia collection constitutes one of the most intact expressions of Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte's work in the world. I have always been a huge fan of Hoffmann and the other designers from this period. It was amazing to see so many pieces at one time and to find out that Melbourne is the repository of these treasures.

The dining room c. 1916

Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) Cupboard, Gallia apartment hall

More McQueen 2006

Josef Hoffmann - Bookcase, Gallia apartment smoking room c. 1913

Yoji Yamamoto

Christian Lacroix (b. 1942)

Christian Lacroix Caramba, dress 1988

Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) Ensemble 1999 with 1873 Cabinet Bruce J. Talbert designer (1838-81)

Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) Dress 1953 with writing cabinet c. 1845

Yves Saint Laurent, 1966 illustration

Balenciaga- Coat is from 1955

Christian Dior, Village party cocktail dress 1955

There were a number of beautiful photos from fashion magazines in the 1950s.

Séeberger studios Paris Fashion illustration for Femme Chic (Evening gowns by Nina Ricci and Carven) 1950

Colette Massignac- designer for Paquin, Paris couture house- Day suit 1947

Dior-Aladin, Dress 1947 and Edward H. Molyneux (1891-1974) Cocktail dress c. 1949-50

Lots of little black dresses from Chanel, Lanvin etc in room with 19th century paintings

Madame Grès (1903-93) Cape c. 1970s

Gabrielle Chanel (1883-1971) Evening dress 1929

Beautiful display

Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936) Afternoon dress 1912

Boué Soeurs, Paris couture house (1899-1940). 1923 and 1925 dresses
in front of Edwin Long (1829-91) Queen Esther 1878

It was an amazing exhibit. We will have to return to the NGV to see additional exhibits. We left at about 3:30 p.m., grabbed a quick sandwich and then went over to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) to see some of the amazing 24-hour 2010 video installation The Clock by Christian Marclay (b. 1955). We had seen a very short portion of the video a number of years ago and were thrilled to have a chance to see more of the video. The Clock is a 24-hour video installation created from thousands of clips of clocks, watches and other references to time from film and television. They are all edited together and synced to the present moment. We watched the video from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is fun to try and identify the films and actors in the very short clips.

We started to walk back to the apartment, but decided to hop on the City Circle free tram as it was approaching. It turned out to be an hour ride, taking us into the Docklands area, where we hadn't yet been. The free tram zone is much larger than we first thought. We ended up back where we got on the tram, a few minutes from our apartment at around 6:30 p.m.

We rested up and then went out to dinner at Chin Chin, a Thai restaurant that is high on everyone's list. They do not take reservations and it was a busy Saturday night. We had a 45 minute wait and decided to wander around the laneways while we were waiting for their call that our table was ready.

We walked through AC/DC laneway and discovered a new laneway- Duckboard Place. Lots of great street art.

Melbourne

There was a Ferris wheel lit up on the other side of the river.

Finally, time to eat at Chin Chin.

Buzzy inside

We sat at the bar and had three wonderful dishes- a crab fried rice; green beans with toasted cashews and a great sauce; and wagu beef with a papaya salad and rice crackers.