Portrait of Vivienne Westwood by Christian Shambenait
It took me a few days, but with the death of icon-goddess-genius Vivienne Westwood, I had to make a post here about her work and how massively influential she was during her lifetime, and why her influence will remain for years to come.
"I take something from the past that has a sort of vitality that has never been exploited – like the crinoline – and get very intense. In the end you do something original because you overlay your own ideas." Vivienne Westwood
Born in 1941 in Tintwistle, Cheshire, Vivienne Westwood (nèe Swire) did not have a "traditional" path into fashion and design, even though she took a course of jewellery at the Harrow Art School (she thought it was not for her, being a working-class girl), she became a primary school teacher and got married with Derek Westwood, had a kid... But she was a maker of things and a creative mind, and made her own wedding dress and jewellery that she sold at a stall.
Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at the Let It Rock store (London, January 1972).
But all of that was about to change when she met Malcolm McLaren. She got divorced, moved with him and had another son. McLaren became the manager of the Sex Pistols and with Westwood, they became a creative duo who dressed the band and became VERY influential during th punk era. We must add the after that they opened a store called SEX, which was the meeting place for the punk scene in London in the 1970s. So, yeah. punk wouldn't look like it does without Vivienne Westwood.
"Vivienne and Malcolm use clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction but also to inspire change. Mohair jumpers, knitted on big needles, so loosely that you can see all the way through them, T-shirts slashed and written on by hand, seams and labels on the outside, showing the construction of the piece; these attitudes are reflected in the music we make. It's OK to not be perfect, to show the workings of your life and your mind in your songs and your clothes."
Viv Albertine
This era of Westwood's design has a lot of collaboration, especially with McLaren, and they produced under the Worlds End label until 1985. These collections have each a theme and a name, and here is when we star seeing Vivienne Westwood's eye and curiosity for historical fashion, as well as nods and details especially from the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, it was the 80s and all was way more colourful than what we thing of more contemporary Vivienne Westwood, but you can see that EVERYTHING was already there in the period which she dubbed as "New Romantic" with collections like Witches, Punkature, and Pirate.
Raincoat and belt, from the 1983 Witches collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.
Ensemble from the 1982 Pirates collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.
Knitted top from the 1983 Witches collection, featuring Keith Haring's graffiti.
The 1988-1991 era is called "The Pagan Years", and we can see the change of the main looks from punks to girls in clothes that parodied the upper class. And it is then that I think the ultimate Vivienne Westwood is seen: corsets, crinolines, tartan, colourful stripes... Here is when we begin to see the historical references taken to a extreme, mixed with the modern word and sense of humour, while always being perfectly made and patterned and fun for all genders.
Here some of my favourite ones:
Vivienne Westwood black satin corset with metallic gold pattern, ss 1992
Stays, late 17th-early 18th century, Met Museum.
Vivienne Westwood autumn/winter 2020.
Fashion illustration on L’Elegant, 1853.
Carmagnole Jacket, France, c. 1790 / Sans-culotte Trousers, France, c. 1790, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2021.
"Watteau" evening dress, 1996, Vivienne Westwood, Victoria & Albert Museum.
"L’enseigne de Gersaint" (detail), Jean-Antoine Watteau.
Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2022.
Portrait of Madame X, 1884, John Singer Sargent.
Madonna in her Fever video, 1993, wearing Vivienne Westwood.
Gold leather corset, sleeves and mini skirt, 'Time Machine' ss 1988, Vivienne Westwood.
Always a creative force and a punk at heart, Vivienne Westwood was also an activist, putting front and center important causes like climate change, or sustainability and transparency in the brand's supply chain.
Rose McGowan walking the autumn/winter 2019 Vivienne Westwood catwalk.
Designer Vivienne Westwood looks through the glass toward the media during a photocall at a retrospective exhibition to celebrate her 30 years in the fashion industry, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Tuesday March 30, 2004.
What is your favourite look/garment of this iconic designer? And does it have an historical reference? Let us all know!
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