Vivienne Westwood 'Vive la Cocotte' orange sheepskin strapless corset, fw 1995
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood 'Vive la Cocotte' orange sheepskin strapless corset, fw 1995
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: UK12 - FR40 - US8 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140219736522
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.
- Gucci by Tom Ford pink floral printed silk blouse and panties, ss 1999By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in London, GBGucci by Tom Ford pink floral printed silk chiffon blouse with bow fastening and black knitted panties with leather elastic waistband. Exact look from the runway. Spring-Summer 1999Category
1990s Italian Blouses and Tops
- Azzedine Alaia butterfly printed corset and skirt ensemble, fw 1991By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBAzzedine Alaia iconic butterfly printed corset and skirt ensemble. Corset with cut outs, zip fastening and built in padded bra; paired with fitted pencil skirt. Fall-Winter 1991Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood black and gold mesh 'Open 24hrs' corset, fw 1993By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood black mesh corset with 'Open 24hrs' gold leaf print. Internal boning designed to cinch the waist and push the breasts up. Anglomania, Fall-Winter 1993Category
1990s British Corsets
- John Galliano London black cotton jersey bodysuitBy John GallianoLocated in London, GBJohn Galliano London black cotton jersey bodysuit ca. 1988-1990Category
1980s British Bodysuits
- Dolce & Gabbana Autumn-Winter 1990 beaded corset blouseBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBDolce & Gabbana Autumn-Winter 1990 beaded corset blouseCategory
1990s Italian Corsets
- Alaia Autumn-Winter 1991 plum corset vestBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBAzzedine Alaia Autumn-Winter 1991 plum corset vestCategory
1990s French Corsets
- Morphew Collection Cream, Black & Red Cheetah Novelty Print Cold Rayon Bias MaxBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMorphew Collection Cream, Black & Red Cheetah Novelty Print Cold Rayon Bias Maxi Slip Dress Maxis MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our NY...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Slips
- Vintage Christian Dior Logo Sheer Bodysuit UnderwearBy Christian DiorLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILVintage Christian Dior bodysuit in sheer pink/nude color featuring iconic logos.Category
Early 2000s Bodysuits
- 1920S Dusty Blue Silk/Cotton Blend Antique Hand Dyed Short Sleeve MesopotamianLocated in New York, NYThis piece is over 100 years old and bears a patina of its worldly travels across a century of time. 1920S Dusty Blue Silk/Cotton Blend Antique Hand Dyed Short Sleeve Mesopotamian Ki...Category
1920s Robes
- 1940S Ivory Bias Cut Silk Crepe De Chine Slip Dress With Floral Appliqués & EmbLocated in New York, NY1940S Ivory Bias Cut Silk Crepe De Chine Slip Dress With Floral Appliqués & EmbroideryCategory
1940s Slips
- 1960 Custom Made Emerald Green Cotton Velvet & Jeweled CaftanLocated in Gresham, OR1960s Custom-made emerald green cotton velvet Mod caftan with jeweled and gold cord embroidered and rhinestone neckline and cuffs. Labeled Helft's. Size 6.Category
1960s American Loungewear
- 1920S Salmon Silk Burnout Velvet Dress With Rhinestone Brooch & Side SlitLocated in New York, NY1920S Salmon Silk Burnout Velvet Dress With Rhinestone Brooch & Side SlitCategory
1920s 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.