Robyn Healy

Robyn Healy is a well-known and respected fashion analyst and commentator. She has worked with Australian public collections of fashion and textiles for over 20 years. Her research interests include: Fashion theory, design, curatorial practise and leadership models for developing creative organizational cultures. She was the Senior Curator of Fashion & Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria for 14 years 1990-2004. Previously working at the National Gallery of Australia, where she was the inaugural Curator of international Fashion from 1982-89 and the Senior Curator of International Decorative Arts from 1990. In 2003 she was awarded a Centenary medal for her contribution to Australian society, through her work in the Fashion & Textiles area. She is currently a PHD Candidate in the Department of Architecture and Design at RMIT University.

Healy has encouraged fashion discourse, through the development of major public collections, exhibitions, publications, and public programs. She has curated over 23 major exhibitions including: House Mix 2003-2004 National Gallery of Victoria International inaugural fashion exhibition Gianni Versace: The Retrospective 2000 –2001 National Gallery of Victoria, Russell Street Male Order, Addressing Menswear 1999 the Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne Jenny Bannister; The Retrospective 1998 Span Galleries for the Melbourne Fashion Festival Couture to chaos, Fashions from 1960 to now 1996-97

National Gallery of Victoria, Auckland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia Worth to Dior: 20th century fashion from the National Gallery of Victoria 1993-1994 National Gallery of Victoria 1995, Auckland City Art Gallery She has published a wide range of material including exhibition catalogues, and she has contributed essays to various publications, recent examples include 2004 ‘ Christian Dior Dressing the National Gallery of Victoria’, ABV43, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne p.p.95-101. 2003 ‘Where the sun shines: Leigh Bowery the super-fashion heavyweight’, Take a Bowery The Art and (larger than) Life of Leigh Bowery, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney,  p.p. 78-85.