1990s Vivienne Westwood black pull
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Capri, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU186217380102
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: Capri, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Missoni multicolour Wool SweaterBy MissoniLocated in Capri, ITMissoni multicolour Wool Sweater totally made in italy in size SCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Sweaters
- Versace Black & White wool CardiganBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Capri, ITVersace Black & White wool Cardigan totally made in italy in size MCategory
1990s Italian Cardigans
- Moschino Jeans Black Grapes Wool SweaterBy MoschinoLocated in Capri, ITMoschino Jeans Black Grapes Sweater Totally made in italy in italian size range 46 composition: Wool and AcrylicCategory
1980s Italian Sweaters
- Dsquared multicoloured SweaterBy Dsquared2Located in Capri, ITDsquared multicoloured Sweater Size MCategory
1990s Sweaters
- Moschino black gold fringes sweaterBy MoschinoLocated in Capri, ITMoschino black cotton gold fringes sweater totally made in italy in size 44Category
1990s Italian Sweaters
- Ungaro Sports d'Hiver sweaterBy Emanuel UngaroLocated in Capri, ITUngaro Sports d'Hiver sweater Size MCategory
1990s French Sweaters
- Kansai Yamamoto Nuwa Low-Gauge Sweater, 1980'sBy Kansai YamamotoLocated in Seattle, WAEarly 1990's Kansai Yamamoto, few final years of Kansai fruitful and most influential era. The tag Kansai International was part of his project to discover new elements from differe...Category
1980s Japanese Pullovers
- 1970s Yves Saint Laurent Metallic Knitted JumperBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in London, GBA 1970s wool and metallic yarn knit jumper by Yves Saint Laurent in a khaki brown tone with accents of black. It almost looks a bit camouflage until you note the fine pastel hued met...Category
1970s French Pullovers
- Jean Paul Gaultier black knitted fur oversized sweater, fw 2003By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GB▪ Jean Paul Gaultier black knitted fur sweater ▪ Rabbit fur ▪ White and grey striped detail ▪ Oversized fit ▪ Wide turtle neck ▪ Size Large ▪ Fall-Winter ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Sweaters
- Moschino Vintage Black and White Computer Screen Wool Light Sweater Size LBy MoschinoLocated in Nice, FRMOSCHINO vintage light sweater featuring a black and white computer screen desing on front with MOSCHINO, M, Peace signs... Round neck. Long sleeves. Label reads MOSCHINO JEANS. Ma...Category
20th Century Italian Pullovers
- Jean Paul Gaultier Vintage Iconic Destructured Sailor Stripes SweaterBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Nice, FRJEAN PAUL GAULTIER vintage iconic destructured sailor stripes sweater featuring detachable sleeves. This sweater features : - Black knitted fabric with...Category
20th Century French Sweaters
- 1980S GALTRUCCO Heather Grey & Black Burgundy Stripe Jacquard Knit SweaterLocated in New York, NY1980S GALTRUCCO Heather Grey & Black Burgundy Stripe Jacquard Knit SweaterCategory
1980s Pullovers