Vivienne Westwood "Limited Edition" Unisex "Midas King" Graffiti Cotton Jumpsuit
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood "Limited Edition" Unisex "Midas King" Graffiti Cotton Jumpsuit
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Large/Italy (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU24717675462
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.
- Junko Koshino Black leather "lace-up" suitBy Junko KoshinoLocated in New York, NYJunko Koshino Black Leather asymmetric-cut hemline has beautifully detailing of "Lace-up" with metallic silver leather cord.
The jacket has padded shoulders with handichief...Category1980s Italian Skirt Suits
Price Upon Request - Lolita Lempicka brown linen & Flax with Swiss lace ensembleBy Lolita LempickaLocated in New York, NYLolita Lempicka fully lined brown linen and flax blend pant ensemble is wonderfully detailed with handmade Swiss lace throughout. The ensemble is fully lined with silk of the same br...Category
1980s Trouser Pant Suits
Price Upon Request - JeanPaul Gaultier versatile asymmetric jacket with pencil skirtBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in New York, NYThis black Jean Paul Gaultier silk-linen blend ensemble has nine (9) 'drawstrings' stationed on all sides of the jacket, two in front, two in back, and one on either sides of the jac...Category
1980s French Dress and Coat Ensembles
Price Upon Request - Rare Issey Miyake/Bergdorf Goodman Jet Black Accented with Velvet Ensemble SetBy Issey MiyakeLocated in New York, NYThis wonderfully rare Issey Miyake/Bergdorf Goodman jet-black accented with floral velvet dress is matched with an optional open-faced ruffled open jacket. The scoop neckline dres...Category
1990s Japanese Skirt Suits
- Black Cotton with Asian Writings Japanese KimonoLocated in New York, NYBlack cotton Japanese Kimono has a matching tie belt which measures 2" x 74". Asian writings in metallic gold and white throughout this wonderful robe of 100% cotton. The total l...Category
1970s Japanese Loungewear
- Dolce & Gabbana Black Brush Wool with Leopard Lining "Buckle" PantsuitBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in New York, NYDolce & Gabbana black brush wool with bold leopard lining accented with "Buckle" front closing pantsuit. The trousers measures 31 inches on the inner legs, outer legs are 39 inch...Category
1990s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- NWT F/W 1992 Gianni Versace Couture Leopard Print Wool Double Breasted BlazerBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a cheetah print double-breasted Gianni Versace Couture blazer, designed by Gianni Versace. From the Fall/Winter 1992 collection, this fabulous blazer features gold Roman-i...Category
1990s Italian Coats
- 2015 Chanel Black Boucle Wool and Gripoix Dress SuitBy ChanelLocated in London, GBThis fabulous 2015 Fall/Winter Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld black dress suit has a contemporary feel while still retaining the classic signatures of Chanel t...Category
2010s British Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Adele Simpson Belted Coat and Skirt Set 1960sBy Adele SimpsonLocated in Water Mill, NYA fabulous coat and skirt set from Adele Simpson in off white, burgundy and black plaid wool. The coat has 2 front flap patch pockets, fold back cu...Category
1960s American Coats and Outerwear
- Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne Safari Two Piece Skirt Suit Set Pink Pockets 1990sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in AMSTERDAM, NLVintage Yves Saint Laurent saharienne safari inspired two-piece set in baby pink with wooden buttons and big, workwear pockets. The iconic “Sa...Category
1990s French Skirt Suits
- NEW F.R.S For Restless Sleepers FRS Gold & Green Silk Dress Robe Coat MBy F.R.S.Located in Switzerland, CHLet F.R.S For Restless Sleepers’ exceptional maximalist approach to pattern infuse your outerwear edit with a healthy dose of luxury by way of this r...Category
2010s Italian Loungewear
- Gucci by Tom Ford monogram canvas and leather pant suit, fw 2000By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in London, GBGucci by Tom Ford; monogram canvas and tan leather pant suit. Flared high-rise pants with leather waist band and zip closure attaching both legs together....Category
1990s Italian Trouser Pant Suits