VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Red Label Size 6 Silver Brocade Sequin Bustier Cocktail Dress
View Similar Items
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Red Label Size 6 Silver Brocade Sequin Bustier Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 692831stDibs: LU16221097162
Vivienne Westwood
For someone who regularly swatted away the industry that made her, audacious British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood certainly knew her way around a garment. And she knew how to provoke. “I don’t follow fashion,” Westwood once told the New York Times. “I’ve never been interested in it.” Collectors are certainly interested in her work, and vintage Vivienne Westwood dresses, handbags, lingerie and jackets have become very desirable over the years.
Westwood was born Vivienne Isabel Swire in a village in Derbyshire, in central England, but moved to London as a teen. In the early 1960s, she began to make her own necklaces and other jewelry and met an artist, activist and entrepreneur named Malcolm McLaren. They became involved romantically and she made clothes for him in the style of the Teddy Boys — the city’s music-crazed, occasionally violent teenagers at the time who wore high-waisted trousers and tailored velvet blazers that drew on Edwardian-era fashions.
Westwood and McLaren opened a vintage shop on King’s Road in London in 1971. The flared denim and peasant blouses of the 1960s, then still popular with the “peace and love” set, didn’t hold any weight for Westwood. Instead, she was interested in provocative, edgy apparel. She repaired used clothing and endeavored to create bold new designs from scratch.
Together Westwood and McLaren sold older rock-and-roll records, customized T-shirts with antiestablishment slogans, biker jackets and snug trousers inspired by the Marlon Brando film The Wild One as well as bondage fetish wear. The shop, once called Let It Rock and then Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die before Sex became a more appropriate moniker, evolved into a youth mecca. The DIY garments — zippered tops, burnt tees emblazoned with anarchist messages — flew off the shelves. More notably, it brought punk to the masses.
Westwood was soon dressing the Sex Pistols, a band that McLaren managed, all the while bridging the gap between music and fashion in a manner that has reverberated throughout the industry for decades.
In 1981, the couple’s first fashion show marked the debut of their Pirate collection — a swashbuckler-themed line that sprang from Westwood’s research into Indigenous Americans and the “power garments” of the Louis XIV era. The collection’s ample proportions and cutting-edge tailoring countered punk’s geometry and tight latex fits as well as what rocker Adam Ant called the “Puritanism” that plagued England at the time. The Pirate collection’s enduring influence on the world of fashion as well as the theatrical work of designers such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen is undeniable.
For the colorful corsets of her 1990 Portrait collection, Westwood drew on 18th-century oil paintings — her models donned the pearl necklaces that have become a social media star and a favorite of influencers and fashion lovers all over the world. For a jacket-and-shorts suit from her Fall/Winter 1996–97 Storm in a Teacup line, the designer used the extreme asymmetry of a tartan mash-up to confront, according to Westwood, “the horror of uniformity and minimalism.”
The self-taught Westwood enjoyed a rapid ascent in fashion, with British society embracing her looks and Vogue immortalizing them in its glossy pages. She garnered accolades for introducing corsets to the runway and dressed Kate Moss and Helena Bonham Carter. And an original Vivienne Westwood wedding dress is featured in 2008’s Sex and the City film.
The fires of political and environmental activism burned brightly for Westwood: She was a Greenpeace ambassador, having designed the organization’s official “Save the Arctic” logo; her clothing brand is committed to using recycled canvas and other eco-friendly materials in the production process; and in 2020, she protested the extradition of Julian Assange by suspending herself in a bird cage outside London’s Old Bailey court. But she will always be the grande dame of British design.
Find an extraordinary range of vintage Vivienne Westwood shirts, shoes, gowns and other items today on 1stDibs.
- HERVE LEGER Size XXS Blue Rayon Blend A-Line Cocktail DressBy Herve LégerLocated in San Francisco, CAHERVE LEGER cocktail mini dress comes in blue rayon blend knit fabric featuring a strappy neckline, A-line shape, and a back zipper closure.Good Pre-Owned Condition. As Is. Garment ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- ALICE + OLIVIA Size 0 Black Beige Viscose Blend Two Tone Cocktail DressBy Alice + OliviaLocated in San Francisco, CAALICE + OLIVIA dress comes in a black & beige lace viscose blend featuring a open back, long sleeves, single button, back slit, and a back zip up closure.Very Good Pre-Owned Conditio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- DOLCE & GABBANA Size 4 Silver Silk Blend Sleeveless Cocktail DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in San Francisco, CADOLCE & GABBANA dress comes in a silver silk blend featuring a ruched top, sleeveless, slit pockets, back slit, and a back zip up closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned Conditio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA Size 4 Raspberry Viscose Blend Fitted Cocktail DressBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in San Francisco, CAMAISON MARTIN MARGIELA cocktail dress comes in a raspberry viscose blend featuring a ribbed panel design, long sleeves, and a side zipper closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-Owned ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- SAINT LAURENT Size 4 White Viscose Strapless Cutout Cocktail DressBy Saint LaurentLocated in San Francisco, CASAINT LAURENT cocktail dress comes in a white viscose featuring a cutout front, strapless neckline, vented back, midi length, and a back zip up closure. Made in Italy. Very Good Pre-...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- LOUIS VUITTON Size S Beige Ecru Wool Blend Ruffled Fitted Cocktail DressBy Louis VuittonLocated in San Francisco, CALOUIS VUITTON cocktail dress comes in a beige wool blend a sleeveless style, a-line, ruffled skirt, gold tone hard ware, ad a back zipper closure. Made in Italy.From Louis Vuitton: I...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- Brunello Cucinelli Sport Grey Cotton Strech Day EnsembleBy Brunello CucinelliLocated in Bilbao, ESBrunello Cucinelli Sport Grey Cotton Strech Day Pool Ensemble Strech oversize cardigan and over shirt material: 75% Cotton & 25% Liurex Size Large Made in Italy *Orders welcome all goods are insured and we package all purchases to a high standard PRADERA Fashion Division...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Cocktail Dresses
- Alaia Mauve Eyelet Fit and Flare Dress Sz FR42By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in New York, NYAlaia Mauve Eyelet Fit and Flare Dress Sz FR42 Features eyelet throughout Made In: Italy Color: Mauve / lavender Composition: 85% viscose, 10% polyester, 5% nylon Lining: None Closu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Kaufmanfranco Ivory Crepe Cutout Dress With Cream Lambskin Leather SleevesBy KaufmanFrancoLocated in Portland, ORThis Kaufmanfranco ivory stretch crepe dress has fun cutouts in the bodice and fabulous cream leather sleeves. We love the interesting seam details that define the silhouette. Closes...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage 1970s Albert Nipon Halter Dress in Linen and Cotton Floral Print Size 2By Albert NiponLocated in Portland, ORThis is a beautiful vintage dress from Albert Nipon in a gorgeous linen cotton blend print with micro herringbone stripes and bold pink, yellow and white big flowers. One of the hal...Category
1970s Hong Kong Day Dresses
$225 Sale Price67% Off - Versace multicoloured dress chemisier with belt NWOTBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Capri, ITVersace multicoloured dress chemisier with belt NWOTCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
$1,208 Sale Price44% Off - Balenciaga/Ghesquiere Rare 2001 Vogue Magazine Pick Chemise 1920's Style DressBy BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CABalenciaga by Nicholas Ghesquiere 2001 Spring/Summer runway collection. This dress was photographed on the catwalk in white. The one being offered here is in the black and white comb...Category
Early 2000s Chemise Dresses