Written by Dianna Drahanchuk
When I think of dressing different, Vivienne Westwood immediately comes to mind.
She started her fashion career in 1971 when she made ted clothes for her partner Malcolm McLaren that they reproduced and sold in their London shop called “Let it Rock”. The following year the focus shifted to rockers featuring leather studs and zips, fashion details popular today, making “too fast to live too young to die” their slogan. In 1974 the store’s name was changed to “Sex” where they created and flogged rubber and leather fetish wear for the regular public. This evolved into “Seditionaries” 1977 punk wear, popular with the likes of Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. 1980 the shop was renamed again to “World’s End” when pirate style clothing was introduced.
Although her runway collections, over the following years, revisited these themes, with cheeky names like “Nostalgia of Mud” and “Tied to the Mast”, she explored traditional style and historical themes adding her peculiar twist in collections such as “Harris Tweed” and “Five Centuries Ago”, to name a few. The book “Vivienne Westwood” by Claire Wilcox includes over 300 hundred intriguing images, some featuring Vivienne wearing her designs. They are arranged in chronological order spanning 34 years ending in 2004 when the book was published.
Vivienne said “You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes” and proved it. At age 75 she still creates unique getups and the book is still published by Victoria and Albert Museum. She is yet a remarkable fashion force to be reckoned with.
When I think of dressing different, Vivienne Westwood immediately comes to mind.
She started her fashion career in 1971 when she made ted clothes for her partner Malcolm McLaren that they reproduced and sold in their London shop called “Let it Rock”. The following year the focus shifted to rockers featuring leather studs and zips, fashion details popular today, making “too fast to live too young to die” their slogan. In 1974 the store’s name was changed to “Sex” where they created and flogged rubber and leather fetish wear for the regular public. This evolved into “Seditionaries” 1977 punk wear, popular with the likes of Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. 1980 the shop was renamed again to “World’s End” when pirate style clothing was introduced.
Although her runway collections, over the following years, revisited these themes, with cheeky names like “Nostalgia of Mud” and “Tied to the Mast”, she explored traditional style and historical themes adding her peculiar twist in collections such as “Harris Tweed” and “Five Centuries Ago”, to name a few. The book “Vivienne Westwood” by Claire Wilcox includes over 300 hundred intriguing images, some featuring Vivienne wearing her designs. They are arranged in chronological order spanning 34 years ending in 2004 when the book was published.
Vivienne said “You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes” and proved it. At age 75 she still creates unique getups and the book is still published by Victoria and Albert Museum. She is yet a remarkable fashion force to be reckoned with.
No comments:
Post a Comment