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UNDERWEAR is often associated with seduction, says Edwina Ehrman from London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
Ms Ehrman is the museums curator of textiles and fashion and hosted a media launch of Undressed: 350 Years of Underwear in Fashion at the Bendigo Art Gallery on Wednesday morning.
"The exhibition brings together over 80 of the most interesting pieces of underwear from the V and As collection," Ms Ehrman said.
"One item that's going to intrigue people is the perforated iron corset in the section that is called 'Control and Constrict'.
"It's actually an orthopedic piece that's very rare and it's alongside some very, very interesting corsets, including two with very tiny waists and people are always interested in tiny waists."
Ms Ehrman said contemporary fashion designers were intrigued by underwear.
"It's one thing they come to us (the Victoria and Albert Museum) to study ... we often choose underwear to flatter our bodies, show them off to their best and to attract the people we want to attract.
"It's quite interesting seeing the contrast between what a Victorian woman might have worn in the boudoir and what a young woman today would wear - often the amount of flesh showing is so much more today."
Undressed - 350 Years of Underwear in Fashion is the Bendigo Art Gallery's fourth exhibition in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum. The exhibition opens on July 19 and features underwear that dates from 1750 to the present day.
For information visit www.bendigoartgallery.com.au