There are important dates in your calendar that you commit to memory. Birthdays. Holidays. Anniversaries. And for fashion, design and culture enthusiasts, the annual NGV Gala.

Since its debut in 2017, the NGV Gala has cemented itself as a highlight of Australia’s cultural calendar. The black-tie celebration combines art, design, fashion, performance, fine food and wine for a decadent dinner followed by an extravagant celebration. In 2022, the Gala marked the opening of the NGV’s blockbuster summer exhibition Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse. Returning for the first time in two years, for one night only, the gallery was transformed into an immersive, interactive event space, with show stopping installations to celebrate the launch of the blockbuster summer exhibition and to commemorate the legacy of the late, legendary fashion designer.

The making of the NGV Gala

An event of this scale is an ambitious undertaking and takes months of fastidious planning with a hardworking, creative team at its core. As a proud Major Partner of the NGV Gala, Mercedes-Benz was granted an exclusive behind the scenes look at the making of this year’s event with Lucy Feagins, Founder and Editor of The Design Files.

In the lead up to this year’s event, Lucy explored the coming together of the NGV Gala with three key creatives responsible for bringing the event to life: Amanda Henderson, Founder of Gloss Creative; Katie Somerville, Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles at NGV; and Julie Cameron, Senior Florist at Flowers Vasette.

Lending inspiration from the famous designer himself, Amanda Henderson of Gloss Creative and her team worked alongside the NGV for six months on the creative direction and event design for the Gala.

“We are creating spaces and environments that reflect the personality of Alexander McQueen,” says Amanda.

Amanda says they had to be conscious not to replicate what McQueen might have created but instead to celebrate the essence of the late designer. “We want to create a feeling of what his runways and storytelling was about.”

For Katie Somerville, Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles at NGV, the opportunity to work on the first major Australian exhibition of Alexander McQueen has been a career highlight. Katie has worked at the NGV for over 25 years and fondly remembers the first three McQueen pieces they acquired in June 1996.

“At that point we were acquiring directly from him from the studio in the days of faxes, no emails, it was all very old school,” she says. “Since then, we’ve been building the NGV Collection and that’s obviously accelerated in the last few years knowing we’ve got this incredible exhibition on the horizon and now have well over 50 works.”

The NGV worked closely with Los Angeles County Museum of Art, who have the most significant public collection of Alexander McQueen in North America, to curate Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse.

Across two continents and over two years, the NGV and LACMA started to develop and evolve the concept to focus not only on McQueen’s work but his influences and creative process through a biographical lens.

“Looking at painting, sculpture, and photography that reflected artists or periods of art history and history in general that he was fascinated by and that were then expressed through these [McQueen] works seen in the exhibition,” explains Katie.

The team at Flowers Vasette led the botanical design at this year’s NGV Gala. Sourcing seasonal florals and foliage, their design also captured the essence of McQueen’s work through opposing design spectrums.

“We’ve gone for a decadent and decay theme,” says Julie Cameron of Flowers Vasette. “There’s the moody and romantic with softer peonies and roses mixed in-between really strong and bold forms.”

On the black carpet

On the Gala night itself, guests were greeted on arrival by a Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+ wrapped in McQueen’s signature tartan. This highland pattern was a recurring motif throughout the exhibition and features in many of McQueen’s works as a nod to his Scottish heritage.

Mercedes-Benz have been a proud supporter of the NGV for 15 years.

“With a shared passion for innovation, art and design, the NGV is delighted to be celebrating 15 years of partnership with Mercedes-Benz,” says National Gallery of Victoria Director Tony Ellwood AM.

“Marking this milestone with the opening of Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse is an opportunity to celebrate the synergies shared between Mercedes-Benz and McQueen’s technological innovation and design lead practices."

Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse runs until 16 April 2023 at NGV. Learn more here.