Vivienne Westwood Harris Tweed Crown
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood Harris Tweed Crown
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: L (NA)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:100% wool
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Just noticed there is one moth hole that we can and will have rewoven. (20 February, 2017).
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U0907174973
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.
- Hermes Red Cashmere Calvi Bucket Hat Size 57By HermèsLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2The use of cashmere, the red hue, and the metal brand accent come together to create this Hermes hat. A hat like this one is a style essential that will elevate your accessory game a...Category
2010s French Hats
- new MAISON MICHEL Melanie Pearles burgundy red wool felt topper fedora hat 54cmBy Maison MichelLocated in Hong Kong, NTnew MAISON MICHEL Melanie Pearles burgundy red wool felt topper fedora hat 54cm Reference: MELK/A00155 Brand: Maison Michel Material: Wool Color: Burgundy Pattern: Solid Extra ...Category
2010s Hats
- new GUCCI Michele 100% cotton burgundy red pom pom knit beret hat M 57cmBy GucciLocated in Hong Kong, NTnew GUCCI Michele 100% cotton burgundy red pom pom knit beret hat M 57cm Reference: MELK/A00161 Brand: Gucci Designer: Alessandro Michele Material: Cotton Color: Red Pattern: S...Category
2010s Hats
- Vintage Emme Hat in Red Velvet Equestrian Riding CapLocated in Portland, ORThis is a lovely vintage velvet equestrian style riding had from Emme New York. The hat is a size small and is in a lovely shade of red with Ivory satin lining. This vintage red cap...Category
1960s American Caps
- Buscemi Red Adjustable Leather Canvas Made in Italy HatBy BuscemiLocated in Downey, CABuscemi Red Adjustable Leather Canvas Made in Italy Hat A classic baseball cap shape in Original Leather & Canvas Made in Italy detail. This Buscemi hat is a must have for any true ...Category
2010s Italian Hats
- Mr. John Jr. Red Wool Hat With Mink Fur Trim, 1960'sBy Mr John Classic, John HarbergerLocated in Atlanta, GA1960's Mr. John Jr. red wool hat with the fabulous presence of a crown. The grand silhouette is enhanced by dark brown (almost black) mink fur trim and a girlish bow. Mr. John hats were created by milliner, John Harberger, who was part of the costume design team that created Scarlett O...Category
1960s American Hats