Country Always

Caring for Country

A Corner of the Empire

The Garden Palace

The Holding Pen

The Agricultural Hall

Regional Networks

Across New South Wales

A Museum of Doing

Technological Museum

Expanding Stories

Evolution of the Castle Hill site from botanical research station to Museum Discovery Centre

Transforming the Tramsheds

Powerhouse Stage 1 and the Harwood Building

A Symbol in Time

Sydney Observatory

Ongoing Transformations

Powerhouse Ultimo

Applied Arts and Sciences

Defining the terms in the 21st century

Powerhouse Renewal

A transformative renewal program across four sites

We Rise

Blak Powerhouse

Powerhouse-1 Mission Launch to the ISS

An initiative of the Powerhouse: Future Space program

2024

Exoskeleton

Powerhouse Parramatta

Powerhouse Parramatta Topping Out

Major construction milestone achieved for the new museum

Six Ways Work Is Worn

Ken Sakata traces two centuries of workwear through the Powerhouse Collection

2025

Stories

Six Ways Work Is Worn

Ken Sakata traces two centuries of workwear through the Powerhouse Collection

Ken Sakata

Australian clothing designer and commentator, Ken Sakata, joins Powerhouse curators to explore the cultural and historical significance of key objects from the Powerhouse Collection.

From a Shōwa-period Japanese fireman’s uniform to a 150-year-old convict jacket and Burberry expedition trousers, the series highlights just a few examples from a collection of over half a million nationally and internationally significant objects.

‘Powerhouse Castle Hill is the collection store. It houses more than 40,000 textile objects preserved for public access and study, including by visiting researchers such as Ken.’

Roger Leong, Collection Curator

The UNKNOWN Japanese remake of the Wizard of Oz

The 'Wizard of Jeanz' collection is a series of twenty-one fabric books that fold out to become different kinds of women's garments. The clothes are sewn into the inside 'spine' of a denim-look fabric booklet which can be folded to fit inside a silver cardboard slip cover. The slipcovers can be placed together and shelved as books. The text 'The Wizard of Jeanz', the volume number of each book and the designer's surname Ohya is printed along the exterior spine of the folded material in silver. The text 'The Wizard of Jeanz' and the surname Ohya is also embossed along the spine of the slip cover. As the series of garments progresses, the clothes change gradually from denim-style clothing to floral cotton. — 'The Wizard of Jeanz' collection by Hiroaki Ohya
Object No. 2005/110/1

Hiroaki Ohya is one of the most innovative and experimental designers in recent fashion history. His Wizard of Jeanz series sees him transform the everyday material of denim into something magical and surprising.

Skirt and slip cover from 'The Wizard of Jeanz' collection, consists of a red skirt with press studs and ruffles stitched to the inside spine of a denim-look fabric book. The front of the book has a silver border and bears the text 'The Wizard of Jeanz'. This text is also printed on the spine of the book, in addition to the surname of the designer 'Ohya' and a number 20' which represents the volume number in the series. A black fabric label with the text 'Ohya' is sewn into the waistband of the skirt. A grey cord book mark is also sewn into the spine of the book.The garments are folded to fit into a silver cardboard slip cover which is embossed along the spine with the text 'The Wizard of Jeanz' and the surname of the designer. — 1/2
Skirt and slip cover by Hiroaki Ohya, 2005
Object No. 2005/110/1-20

Brown cardboard tube with pink and black sticker 'A-POC ALIEN/ISSEY MIYAKE/MADE IN JAPAN' and two silver metal lids. Looped around each end of the tube is a black nylon webbing carry strap fastened with black plastic buckles. — 2/2
Packaging for A-POC outfit, 1999
Object No. 2001/106/3-4

Ohya is Miyake's protégé. And you can see the influence of this shared vocabulary with pleating, with technical pattern making. So if you think about it, maybe this is a metaphor for his own personal journey. Being from the relatively normal world of design and then being swept up into this fantastical studio with this all seeing, all knowing wizard.