THE GENIUS BEHIND VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
It seems like nowadays, I can’t scroll down my Twitter or Instagram explore page without spotting a cage corset or Saturn necklace at least ONCE. This year, in 2020, Vivienne Westwood exploded into the mainstream, once again, attracting the late Millennials and Generation Z with her Renaissance-inspired corsets and pearl necklaces.
However, believe it or not, this isn’t her first time leaving a mark within generations. Without Westwood, the Punk era and fashion world that we know today would cease to exist.
Born on April 8th, 1941 in a small village in England, Vivienne Westwood wasn’t your typical child in her generation. She always had the idea that she would make something out of herself, “I wanted to be a hero and saw no reason why a girl couldn’t be one”. By the age of 16, she was already making her own clothes but did not have any interest in fashion. Little did she know that in the early 1970s she would open up a shop with her then-boyfriend and business partner Malcolm Mclaren on Kings RD that would help define an era.
MOTHER OF PUNK
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren helped give birth to Britain’s most defining youth movement, punk. Westwood admitted that she and Malcolm were experimenting by tearing up her old clothes etc to bring their vision to light. The Punk movement was a polarizing topic within British society, however, it really connected with the young generation that wanted to go against the status quo. With its fishnet stockings, spiked hair, and provocative clothing making the rise, Westwood and Mclaren renamed their store to “SEX”.
“I practically loved my SEX look: my rubber stockings and the t-shirt with pornographic images and my stilettos and spiky hair… I stopped traffic in my rubber negligee”.
This punk era is what deemed Westwood to be the provocatively outspoken woman she is now. However as punk became more mainstream, it started to lose its focus on why it started in the first place. This infuriated Vivienne and lead her to, “ stop caring about punk because people stopped thinking”. By the time this was happening, she was slowly losing her interest in fashion… and Malcolm getting more into the music world did not help either. Nevertheless, she decided to “carry on because I was good at it” and in 1980 the shop was refitted and renamed to be “Worlds End”.
HER RUNWAY DEBUT
Fast forward to her very first catwalk fashion show in 1981 titled “The Pirate Collection”. Before I forget, Mclaren was involved as well (but we don’t really care about him). Anyways, The collection was heavily inspired by the third world and pirates. The garment was asymmetrical, romantic, baggy, and a hit with consumers. When asked if she knew her collection was going to receive positive feedback she said, “You have to have that sixth sense on what’s going to sell”.
It’s important to keep in mind that during this “Pirate Era” some of the choices Westwood was making by taking inspiration from other cultures like indigenous people can be seen as cultural appropriation. Personally, I believe it partially was, as the pieces she took inspiration from reminds me of the Pocahontas costumes people unfortunately wear, it looked cheap.
THE BIRTH OF THE CORSET
In 1985, Vivienne Westwood debuted her new collection “Mini-Crini”, which was drastically different compared to the 80s trends at the time. Fitted clothes, English tailoring, princess line coats inspired by the Queen as a child. Vivienne went against the 80s shoulder pads aesthetic by drawing attention to the hips and curves of her models. From then on she would make garments that were form-fitting, provocative, and sexy.
Now, her corsets are adored by the audience of the 21st century with celebrities like FKA twigs, Bella Hadid, Lori Harvey, etc sporting them on social media. The corsets are tight-fitting, cinching the waist to bring attention to the hips as the sides had cutouts that were inspired by the shape of horseshoes. This was her first major accomplishment as a solo designer.
As basic as it sounds, I love this era of Vivienne the most because of the printed designs she displayed on her corsets and garments, specifically in the 90s. My personal favorite is the “Always on Camera” corset that featured in her 1992 collection.
NOT JUST A DESIGNER
Fashion could be more than just clothes it can be about protesting, it can send a message, and Westwood was really one of the first designers to do that. She would have collections that brought attention to climate change, prison reform, etc.
She believes that the government is anti-people and was not formed to help the people. In her words, “People have got to disagree with the government, they have to fight against the government” if they want to see real change. Nevertheless, despite her being a millionaire, Westwood discussing the damage of patriarchy, the bourgeoisie, and the government never seemed to be disingenuous in my eyes. I believe it’s because she never flaunts her money as most do, and uses her social status to bring awareness to causes that need exposure.
“What I’m doing now, it is still punk -- it’s still about shouting about injustice and making people think, even if it’s uncomfortable. I’ll always be a punk in that sense”
Nowadays, Vivienne is less involved in her fashion enterprise and has focused more on her activism and social change. However, don’t fret, Westwood chose 6 designers that she believes will still carry on the name proudly and create collections that make people think, etc.
What I admire about Vivienne Westwood was that from the beginning she never cared about what people thought about her. She always did what SHE wanted and her clothes are a reflection of that. From punk to victorian, she left her mark in the industry to deem herself to be, in my opinion, a legend.
Sincerely,
Aminee