The exhibition will feature over 30 works primarily drawn from the NGV's holdings of fashion and textiles, as well as key loans. Sculpture, paintings, decorative arts and photography, from antiquity to the present day will also be on display.

Drape will showcase elegant gowns from the 19th century to more contemporary works including designs by Dolce & Gabbana and Comme des Garçons among others.

Drape will explore the practice of arranging cloth on the body in two dominant modes, clinging drape and elevated drape.

Clinging drape relies on direct contact between the body and the cloth, as in classical sculpture, while elevated drape shows fabric theatrically sculptured away from the body, similar to the gathering of cloth over crinolines and bustles.