Vivienne Westwood red satin corset with embroidered orb, c. 1990s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140218104522
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.
- Vivienne Westwood Gold Metallic Lace Corset, fw 1993By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Archival Vivienne Westwood Corset ▪ Fall-Winter 1993 ▪ Gold metallic lace ▪ Ivory cotton mesh side panels ▪ Built-in boning ▪ Zip closure at the centre-back ▪ Size: UK10 - US6...Category
1990s British Corsets
- Vivienne Westwood Toile de Jouy cotton corset, ss 1996By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood white cotton corset ▪ Blue 'Toile de Jouy' print ▪ Boned stomacher ▪ Matching printed overlay with lace-up fastening and fold-over collar ▪ String ties on the s...Category
1990s English Corsets
- Vivienne Westwood gold crochet lurex long-sleeve cropped corset, fw 1993By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood corset ▪ Gold crocheted lurex yarn ▪ Built-in boned corset ▪ Long sleeves ▪ Wide neckline ▪ Cropped length ▪ Size Medium ▪ Fall-Winter 1993 ▪ Made in EnglandCategory
1990s English Corsets
- Christian Dior by John Galliano Nude Smocked Mesh and Sequin Corset Top, FW 2005By Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Brand: Christian Dior ▪ Creative Director: John Galliano ▪ Collection: Fall-Winter 2005 ▪ Fabric: 100% Cotton Tulle ▪ Other Textile: 54% Silk, 46% Nylon ▪ Embroidery: Glass, Plasti...Category
Early 2000s French Corsets
- Azzedine Alaia navy blue houndstooth 'Tati' corset, ss 1991By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBAzzedine Alaia navy blue houndstooth 'Tati' corset with built in bra. Spring-Summer 1991Category
1990s Italian Corsets
- Gianni Versace Red Silk Bondage Corset Top, fw 1992By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Archival Gianni Versace Bondage Corset ▪ Creative Director: Gianni Versace ▪ Fall-Winter 1992 ▪ Museum Grade ▪ Constructed from multiple red channel sti...Category
1990s Italian Corsets
- 1930S Blush Pink Bias Cut Silk Charmeuse Negligee Beautifully Trimmed With LaceLocated in New York, NYIn exceptional wearable condition however there are a few subtle spots. The silk is luscious and of the finest quality, a rare and covetable piece with a dramatic full skirt. 1930S B...Category
1930s Negligees
- Flower print and lace night-gown and negligée Christian Dior Lingerie for SaksBy Christian DiorLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRFlower print and lace night-gown and wrapped negligée with shoulder pad. Fabric composition : 100% polyester. Size S on tag but fit more likely LCategory
1980s American Negligees
- Boned ivory corset with suspender belt La Perla NEW with tagBy La PerlaLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRBoned ivory bustier with suspender belt. Main fabric composition: 60% nylon, 15% stretch, 10 polyurethane, 10% polyester, 5% cotton. Padding ( inside th...Category
2010s Italian Corsets
- 1920s White Cotton Eyelet Slip DressLocated in London, GBThis is a really good 1920s cotton whitework slip dress. It is incredibly detailed and the execution of the eyelet work is exceptional. The dress may have been an underdress for a te...Category
1920s British Slips
- Ensemble Robe and night gown in silk and lace appliqué By Lady Duff Circa 1930Located in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FREnsemble Robe and night gown in silk and lace appliqué. The Robe has 2 cotton crochet buttons in the middle front. The Night gown has a silk ruban around the under-bust with a bow in...Category
1920s French Lingerie
- Morphew Collection Black & White Tic Tac Toe Print Cold Rayon Bias Maxi Slip DrBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMorphew Collection Black & White Tic Tac Toe Print Cold Rayon Bias Maxi Slip Dress Maxis MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our NYC Ateliér...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Slips
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.