The Bendigo Art Gallery is anticipating huge visitation to its next fashion-based exhibition.
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On Wednesday, the gallery announced it will host an exhibit featuring Spanish fashion pioneer Cristobal Balenciaga's work.
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will launch in August, just four weeks after the gallery's current international exhibition - Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits - closes in July.
Bendigo Art Gallery acting director Gaye Harrington said she expected strong visitation thanks, in part, to the direct flights from Sydney to Bendigo.
"We are expecting this to be every bit as popular as other exhibitions we have had with a fashion theme," she said.
"We get a lot of visitation from interstate and believe the Qantas flights have a positive impact on that. We can measure that through advanced bookings and by capturing post code information to see where our visitors are coming from."
"It is fantastic for Bendigo to have exhibitions that are more accessible to people from everywhere and the opportunity to have people come from Sydney to see a regional gallery is fantastic."
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will have more than 100 original outfits on display as well as a section dedicated to the designer's legacy and influence on modern fashion.
"There will be some masterworks from his peak period in the 1950s and 1960s but another important part is what we're calling the legacy section, where his proteges and contemporaries have shown how he inspired them to do their work," Ms Harrington said.
"To have some original works where we can see the 'envelope' or 'baby doll' dresses, seeing those original artifacts is exciting.
"He was known as the Master and was at the leading edge of innovation in design when came to shapes (in fashion). The particular silhouette we know from the 1950s, he changed that through shape and design."
The exhibition has been designed by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The V&A Museum also worked with Bendigo Art Gallery on the Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition.
"This exhibition comes from the V and A in London and Bendigo is the exclusive venue for it in Australia," Ms Harrington said.
"What sets Bendigo (Art Gallery) apart is having great relationships with international institutions that bring these exhibitions to Bendigo.
"This year we have had Tudors to Windsors then Balenciaga, plus 1000 Doors in Rosalind Park. It is a very busy and ambitious time but we are excited by what we are bringing to audiences."
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion is on at Bendigo Art Gallery from August 17.
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