Media and special guests have seen the unwrapping of an extraordinary piece of fashion history at Te Papa. Curator Keira Miller and her team were in the midst of setting up the Unveiled exhibition, which opens on Saturday December 17.
Unveiled showcases 200 years of wedding fashion from one of the world's most superb collections - that of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In a Te Papa first, guests were allowed to watch as curators and conservators unpacked the famous Whigham wedding dress from its container.
The gown, worn by Margaret Whigham - the Duchess of Argyll who married Charles Sweeney and lived a scandalous and tragic life - in 1933 and made by Norman Hartnell (who also created the Queen's wedding and coronation dresses) features a three and a half-metre train and is made of silk and lace with pearl beading.
Other highlights of the exhibition include lavish gowns by some of the biggest names in international fashion, including Charles Worth, Norman Hartnell, Christian Lacroix and Vivienne Westwood, and the wedding gowns of Dita Von Teese and Gwen Stefani. Also on show are special commissions by leading New Zealand designers WORLD, Lindah Lepou, and Jane Yeh.