Worlds End dove grey cotton gauze oversized 'Punkature' jacket, ss 1983
About the Item
- Designer:Worlds End, Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: One Size (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14028504171
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Margiela trompe l'oeil printed jersey jacket, ss 1996By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in London, GBMartin Margiela jersey open jacket with trompe l'oeil digital print. Can be styled open or close with a safety pin. Spring-Summer 1996Category
1990s Italian Jackets
- Vivienne Westwood unisex multicoloured striped satin evening jacket S/S 1993By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBSpring-Summer 1993Category
1990s British Jackets
- Alexander McQueen embroidered tailored 'Sarabande' jacket, c. 2007By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBAn Alexander McQueen tailored embroidered jacket from the 'SARABANDE' collection, Spring/Summer 2007. The jacket has scalloped edges with pleated trimmings throughout and black floral embroidery. French 40 - UK 12 - Italian 44 - Medium About the collection... "The inspiration is Handel’s Sarabande of the title – a majestic and elegant dance – the portraits of Goya, the turn of the century exotic and socialite Marchesa Luisa Casati and garden flowers. As always, there is a melancholic undertone: faded flowers are trapped in chiffon and lace, ruffled skirts constructed out of tiers of delicate petals and prints are botanical – brightly coloured birds and blooms, scattering swallows and winding stems of leaves. Show pieces include a dress made entirely out of frozen flowers. Tailoring is this time more fluid than it has been and clothing indebted to horsemanship is worn with finely worked, oversized pirate shirts...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Jackets
- John Galliano dusty teal wool double breasted blazer jacket, fw 1988By John GallianoLocated in London, GB▪ John Galliano dusty teal double breasted blazer jacket ▪ 100% Wool ▪ 100% Silk lining ▪ Capelet panel to one shoulder fastening through a belt loop on opposite hip ▪ Asymmetric he...Category
1980s British Jackets
- Gianni Versace white leather backless lace up fringed jacket, ss 2002By Versace, Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace white leather jacket ▪ Open back with leather lace-up fastening ▪ Leather fringes on sleeves, cuffs and waist ▪ Braided leather detail on seams ▪ Zip front faste...Category
Early 2000s Italian Jackets
- Gucci by Tom Ford white quilted mink fur jacket, fw 2000By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in London, GB▪ Gucci white mink fur jacket ▪ Designed by Tom Ford ▪ Funnel neck ▪ Off-centre front zip fastening ▪ Gold hardware ▪ IT 40 - FR 36 - UK 8 - ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Jackets
- Giorgio Armani Pearl Grey Jacket Size 44 EU NewBy Giorgio ArmaniLocated in New York, NYSoft and luxurious Giorgio Armani pearl grey jacket , new with tags. Beautifully tapered to fit the body. The jacket features a notched lapel collar, and three matte buttons down the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Jackets
- Christian Dior Chambray Jacket with D ZipperBy Christian DiorLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILChristian Dior Chambray Crop Top Vintage From the Spring/Summer 2001 Collection by John Galliano Blue Long Sleeve with V-NeckCategory
Early 2000s French Jackets
- 2006 Alexander McQueen Genuine Leather JacketBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Berlin, BENew, with tags grey leather jacket by Alexander McQueen from the fall 2006 collection. It is made from a lightweight and worn in looking leather...Category
Early 2000s Italian Jackets
- Chanel blue Grey Perfecto Leather JacketBy ChanelLocated in Palm Beach, FLPrefecto in blue-gray leather, quilted stitching on the front. Zip and pressure with Chanel logo, zip on the end of each sleeve. Double CC on the left sleeve. Beautiful color and ver...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Jackets
- Black and White Silk Pasementerie Strips Chanel Jacket 2009By ChanelLocated in Palm Beach, FLSuperb black and white silk tweed jacket. Strips of gallon of white Pasementerie stitched by a strip of black silk. Zip closure marked Chanel, three buttons on the ends of each sleev...Category
Early 2000s French Jackets
- Chanel Dress Coat Black and White Tweed 2010By ChanelLocated in Palm Beach, FLPretty dress coat in black and white cotton tweed, inclusion of glossy bluish line, pretty silver bonton interlacing of black leather and Chanel logo in the center, Collection 2010.Category
2010s French Jackets
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Vivienne Westwood’s Punk Spirit Lives On in This ’90s Tartan Ensemble
The shorts suit in a mash-up of patterns with an asymmetrical cut speaks to the designer’s rebellious spirit.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.