Kylie's red Padam Padam outfit stars in DIVA exhibit
The exhibition at Melbourne's newest museum, featuring Kylie Minogue's catsuit and Elton John's Louis XIV-inspired 50th birthday outfit, celebrates the power of divas through time.
Think of the term 'diva' and you might not necessarily conjure up an image of an Aussie punk rock singer rocking a two-piece get-up made of pink Whoopee Cushions.
But the outfit, worn by Amyl and the Sniffers punk singer Amy Taylor on stage at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl in January, is apparently bang on for a modern-day Australian diva.
Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers gives big modern-Australian diva energy in her outfit made of Whoopee Cushions. (Supplied: Jamie Wdziekonski)
"It's a fantastic costume; very inventive and clever and funny," says Margot Anderson, who is head curator for the new Australian Museum of Performing Arts's first exhibition, DIVA.
"When we think of the Australian diva, the sorts of attributes that seem to come up a lot is this lightheartedness, sense of humour, but also slightly sort of defiant and subversive as well."
Divas across the ages
The Whoopee Cushion ensemble from Amyl and the Sniffers, who dominated this year's ARIA Music Awards, and other show-stopping costumes such as Kylie Minogue's red Padam Padam catsuit and cape, and a robe worn by soprano Dame Nellie Melba, feature in the exhibition.
Rihanna wore her pope-inspired outfit to the 2018 Met Gala, where the theme was Heavenly Bodies. (Supplied: Kevin Mazur / MG18 via GettyImages )
Also on display is Rihanna's pope-inspired Met Gala outfit, and outfits from divas like Cher, Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury.
The pieces have come to Melbourne directly from London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), where the DIVA exhibition ran for 10 months.
V&A senior curator Kate Bailey says dozens of intricate costumes, plus jewellery, photography, art and music, were carefully transported across the world, with most of the costumes safely housed on mannequins during their travels. (Except for Elton John's incredible King Louis XIV-inspired headpiece, which had to be packed separately).
Elton John's Louis XIV-inspired 50th birthday outfit was transported on a mannequin, but the elaborate headdress had to be packed separately. (Supplied: UK Press via Getty Images)
"When they're unboxed … as they stepped into the crate, they step out," she says of the well-clothed mannequins.