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LouieSex and Zeitgeists - The life and times of Vivienne Westwood
June 8th 2007 00:07
From Viviennewestwood.com
After visiting the Victoria and Albert exhibition which travelled to the National Gallery in Canberra a few years ago, I’ve been obsessed with Vivienne Westwood. It’s not just that she’s sixty and has a beautiful thirty-year-old Italian lover, although that does impress me, and it’s not just that she’s been an inspiration for generations of fashionistas, mostly it’s because for Westwood, fashion is thought.
From Viviennewestwood.com
From her early collections like Buffalo Bill and Pirates, pictured above, and the beginnings of her shop – which changed its name over time from ‘Too fast to live, too young to die’ to ‘Sex’ amongst others – Westwood’s game has been one of questioning societal norms and exploring the way in which fashion gives voice to zeitgeist. One of the early proponents of punk and friend of the Sex Pistols, Westwood has been politically minded from the beginnings of her career.
From Viviennewestwood.com
Her ‘Storm in a Teacup’ collection in the 90s for instance, used suiting with exaggerated shoulders and nipped waits reminiscent both of turn of the century clothing the big shoulderpads of the 80s. Her rationale, if I remember correctly, was big shoulders in women’s fashion corresponded with times of affirmative action for women; suffrage in the late 1890s and corporate infiltration in the 1980s.
From Viviennewestwood.com
On Liberty, obviously named after John Stuart Mill's treatise, has a surprisingly regal tenor considering the strictly democratic nature of Mill's ideas. By using such an esteemed title for this collection, Westwood cleverly juxtaposes Naomi Campbell's headgear with notions like free speech, the open exchange of ideas and the importance of freedom to the individual. Pure genius.
From Style.com
Again in her Fall/Winter collection this year the shoulders and waist were exaggerated in this black dress which could be considered conservative but the cut, the cowl neck and ruched waist provide visual points of interest.
From Style.com
Also this season were big hats and fanciful tailoring. While I wouldn’t venture on the street in an entire ensemble the insertion of one or two of these items into a contemporary wardrobe would be most effective.
For Australians you can find some of her clothes at Cactus Jam or Parlour X, or as usual net-a-porter who have this Grasshopper jacket,
From Net-a-porter.com
set apart again by detailed draping and tailoring methods, and this bag whose tartan design is as British as Westwood herself.
From Net-a-porter.com
Her influence is obvious in designers from Alexander McQueen and Galliano to Gaultier and Tom Ford and her unswerving passion and vivacity certainly give me hope for the kind of living (and shagging) I can look forward to as a sexagenarian.
For more information visit Viviennewestwood.com, it's a fantastic website with a fascinating archive.
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