The New South Wales state government has announced it will spend around AU$500 million (US$381.6 million) to turn Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum in the inner-city suburb of Ultimo into a fashion and design hub, according to a report in The Guardian.

On Tuesday, the state’s arts minister, Don Harwin, announced this year’s state budget would contain “the first tranch” required to fund “the complete renewal of this building”.

“Design and fashion will be at the forefront of this museum in the future,” Harwin said.

Anna Plunkett, co-founder of Australian label, Romance Was Born, told The Guardian it made economic sense for Australia to have a museum space devoted to fashion.

“People are waking up, I think … the McQueen show at the Met was the biggest-selling exhibition of all time. Fashion crosses so many boundaries, it’s so desirable and it creates so much space for crossing genres and storytelling,” she said.