The Sweet Stuff explores fashion as confection, both the craft of making and the pleasures of indulgence. In French, confection means to assemble or tailor, while in English it evokes sweets – liquorice allsorts, humbugs, piped icing. This double meaning has inspired an installation where garments are imagined as visual confections: colourful, excessive, and delightful.
Drawing from the National Trust’s Fashion and Costume Collection, the display ranges from nineteenth-century silhouettes to twentieth-century couture, highlighting cycles of repetition and reinvention. Fashion here is presented not as mere utility, but as play and expression.
Just like a sweet, fashion can be fleeting and indulgent, yet it lingers in memory. The Sweet Stuff celebrates that pleasure, revealing that the most joyful, playful garments also carry lasting cultural meaning.
Hours 
| Date | Times |
|---|---|
| Sat 6 Dec |
|
| Thu 11 Dec |
|
| Fri 12 Dec |
|
| Sat 13 Dec |
|
Price and bookings
This is a free event
Booking not required
Christmas
Christmas things to do
The city’s wrapped and ready with magical moments, twinkling lights and festive fun.
Christmas eat and drink
Savour the city’s festive flavours with rooftop bars, laneways and menus made for merry moments.
Christmas shopping
Start ticking off your list in the city’s iconic laneways, arcades and malls.
Discover more
Rigg Design Prize: Next in Design
The Rigg Design Prize is Australia’s most prestigious accolade for contemporary design.
Eucalypts of Hodogaya
An exhibition that reflects on a remarkable story of post-war reconciliation and remembrance.
MECCA X NGV Women in Design Commission: Nipa Doshi
Designer Nipa Doshi explores beauty, plurality and diversity in her handcrafted cabinet.
DONE/UNDONE
Vogue Living Style Editor Joseph Gardner curates an exhibition of Australia's most talented artists.