Rare Vivienne Westwood 3 Suisses AW 1995/ 1996 Collab Checked Tartan Wool Coat
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 12 (UK)Bust: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)Shoulder to Hem: 33 in (83.82 cm)
- Style:1990's (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Sheffield, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3407222437082
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: Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Rare Archival Vintage Moschino 1993/94 Flamenco style Romper Playsuit DressBy Moschino, Franco MoschinoLocated in Sheffield, GBRare Archival Moschino 1993/94 Runway Flamenco Playsuit ! This epic vintage 'Cheap and chic' label romper consisting of a fitted long sleeved bodycon pl...Category
1990s Italian Capes
- Vintage FENDI Jacquard FF Jacquard Zucca Jacket CoatBy FendiLocated in Sheffield, GBIconic early 90's Vintage FENDI Zucca Jacket. Features: Zip down front Chest pockets Zip fasten Hip pockets Long Sleeves Adjustable Draw Tie wais...Category
1990s Italian Coats
- 1980's Jean Charles De Castelbajac Haute Couture Yellow Wool TunicBy Jean Charle De CastelbajacLocated in Sheffield, GBUnusual, Superbly constructed Vintage Jean Charles De Castelbajac Couture Wool Tunic. With leather buckled side details and cotton lined interior. The label is hand painted on silk a...Category
20th Century French Tunics
- 1990's Vintage Moschino Cropped Quilted Orange Bomber Jacket Gilet VestBy MoschinoLocated in Sheffield, GBIncredible Vintage 1990's Moschino jeans quilted, cropped bomber vest, in satsuma orange with contrast black piping and iconic peace shaped metal hardware. MADE IN ITALY Features:...Category
1990s Italian Bomber Jackets
- Y2K Christian Dior Fw/2004 Monogram Rasta Jacquard Trench Coat by GallianoBy Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in Sheffield, GBFALL / WINTER 2004 COLLECTION CHRISTIAN DIOR Arguably one of the most iconic designs by Galliano for Dior. Double breasted & fully monogrammed CHRISTIAN DIOR trench coat, with ori...Category
Early 2000s French Trench Coats
- Rare 2000's Sunset Rave MOSCHINO Sunset Print - Pattern Denim JacketBy MoschinoLocated in Sheffield, GBEarly 2000's UK Garage Era 'MOSCHINO' Sun-set Print Cotton Jacket, crafted from a Printed Cloth in Blue and Orange ombré shades. We also have the Matching shirt & Pants available t...Category
Early 2000s Italian Box Jackets
- Art Deco 7 Ft. Black Silk Manila Piano Shawl With White Floral EmbroideryLocated in New York, NYArt Deco black silk piano shawl hand embroidered with white silk floral design and 12" hand knotted silk fringe. The shawl is visually beautiful, soft...Category
Early 20th Century Philippine Shawls
- Mariano Fortuny Burgundy Stencilled Crepe CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYFortuny translated the caftan as a loose fitting outer garment, usually made out of silk velvet crepe or gauze the fitted back and open front allowed for elaborate stenciled decorati...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
- Mariano Fortuny Black Stencilled Velvet Long CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYFortuny's coats often take their inspiration from a myrid of references,renaissance,persian,arabic .These are often elaborately decorated in historical motifs surprisingly unrelated...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
- Mariano Fortuny Pink Coral Stencilled Velvet Long CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYFortunys coats take their inspiration from a myrid of references,renaissance ,persian,arabic .These are often elaborately decorated in historical motifs...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
- Mariano Fortuny Gauze Sleevless Coat, Provenance Tina ChowBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYTransparent Fortuny gauze pieces are based on the ancient tunic which was a shirt like garment that became traditional attire in roman times, the copts or christian egyptians...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats
- Mariano Fortuny Black Gauze Stencilled Short CoatBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYFortuny translated the caftan as a loose fitting outer garment, usually made out of silk velvet crepe or gauze the fitted back and open front allowed for elaborate stenciled decorati...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Coats