Vivienne Westwood Black Silk Long Asymmetrical Skirt
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 66.93 in (170 cm)Marked Size: 44 (EU)Waist: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Black silk
- Condition:
- Seller Location:SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
- Reference Number:
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: SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Alexander Mc Queen Red and Black Tone Tartan Skirt 40ITBy Alexander McQueenLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRAlexander Mc Queen - Red and black tone tartan skirt ornamented with a zip. Indicated size 40 IT, it fits a 38 FR. Additional information: Condition: Very good condition Dimensions:...Category
2010s Flare Skirts
- Mugler Angora and Wool Wrap Around Skirt 36FR/38FRBy Mugler, Thierry MuglerLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRMugler - Angora and wool wraparound skirt. No size indicated, it fits a 36FR/38FR. Additional information: Condition: Very good condition Dimensions: Waist: 35 cm Hips: 44 cm Length...Category
Early 2000s Wrap Skirts
- Hermès Pleated Silk, Cashmere and Wool Skirt 34FRBy HermèsLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRHermès - (Made in France) Cashmere, silk and wool skirt with sunray pleats. Indicated size 34FR. Additional information: Condition: Very good condition Dimensions: Waist: 32 cm Leng...Category
1970s French Pleated Skirts
- Alexander McQueen Cashmere SkirtBy Alexander McQueenLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRAlexander McQueen - (Made in Italy) Black cashmere skirt. Size 42IT. Additional information: Dimensions: Size: 38 cm, Length: 70 cm Condition: V...Category
Early 2000s Italian Pencil Skirts
- Louis Féraud Sequin Black Skirt Size 40FR, 1980sBy Louis FeraudLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRLouis Féraud - (Made in Germany) Black skirt with sequins dating from the 1980s. It is pleated on the lower part revealing silk chiffon panels. Size 40FR. Additional information: D...Category
1980s German Pencil Skirts
- Dolce & Gabbana Skirt, Size 38FRBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRDolce & Gabbana -(Made in Italy) Printed silk skirt. Size 38FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Waist: 38 cm, Hips: 42 cm, Length: 55 cm Condition: Very good condition Seller R...Category
2010s Italian A-Line Skirts
- Giorgio Armani Black Rayon Crepe Skirt Size EU40 / US 6By Giorgio Armani Le CollezioniLocated in New York, NYGiorgio Armani Le Collezioni flirty little black skirt with draped open front that flows from fitted waistband. Fabric is a soft rayon ble...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Joseph Belted Sash Black Skirt Size UK LBy JosephLocated in New York, NYThis is a skirt full of delightful surprises. It moves with you. Hidden slits and flaps, wrapped belted waist gives a variety of options for styling. The long sash belt allows for...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Bulgarian Skirts
- JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 1990 fringed denim skirt - part of a setBy Gaultier JeansLocated in Genève, CHBlue denim skirt with fringe trim by Jean Paul Gaultier, wear yours with the matching shirt. -Frayed fringe details along seams and hems -Metal zipper and logo on the side -100% Cot...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Comme des Garçons Skirt AD 2003By Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe Comme des GarçonsLocated in Berlin, BEFabulous pleated maxi skirt from Junya Watanabe for Comme des CDG AD 2003 Collection. Punk style, tattoo print. Size M.Category
Early 2000s Japanese Pleated Skirts
- JUNYA WATANABE COMME DES GARCONS Leather Pleated SkirtBy Junya Watanabe Comme des GarçonsLocated in Berlin, BEAmazing pleated black leather skirt by Japanese designer Junya Watanabe. The luxurious leather skirt is made form a soft leather - it is fitted at the waistband and pleated at the b...Category
2010s Japanese Pleated Skirts
- CACHAREL - Black Cotton Wrap Mini Skirt Size 0US 34EUBy CacharelLocated in Cuggiono, MICacharel is a French company of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories, founded in 1958 by Jean Bousquet. Cacharel designs are characterized by their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement, and use of bright colours. Cacharel is named after the local name of the garganey, a small duck...Category
Early 2000s Polish Wrap Skirts