Vivienne Westwood navy blue striped cotton jersey dress, ss 1989
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: S/M (UK)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14026856361
Vivienne Westwood
For someone who regularly swats away the industry that made her, audacious British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood certainly knows her way around a garment. And she knows how to provoke. “I don’t follow fashion,” Westwood once told the New York Times. “I’ve never been interested in it.”
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 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.
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’s dressed Kate Moss and Helena Bonham Carter, and a wedding dress that she created is featured in 2008’s Sex and the City film.
Today, the fires of political and environmental activism burn brightly for Westwood: She is 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 handbags, shoes, evening dresses and other items today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Yves Saint Laurent white gabardine cotton safari mini dress, c. 1968By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in London, GBYves Saint Laurent white gabardine cotton safari mini dress with applied pockets and front lacing. As seen on Veruschka photographed by Franco Rubartelli for Vogue Paris, 1968 and Betty Catroux...Category
1960s French Day Dresses
- Azzedine Alaia cream cotton pleated coat dress, ss 1985By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaia cream cotton coat dress ▪ 2 button fastenings at collar ▪ Wide cut sleeves ▪ Voluminous shape ▪ Pleated wrap skirt attached to back panel fastening with two long ...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- Vivienne Westwood white cotton jersey dress, ss 1989By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood white cotton jersey dress with printed baroque picture frame. Civilizade, Spring-Summer 1989Category
1980s British Day Dresses
- Comme des Garçons grey jersey deconstructed sweater dress, fw 1998By Comme des GarçonsLocated in London, GBComme des Garçons grey jersey deconstructed sweater dress with hook and eye fastenings and various shaped panels Fall-Winter 1998Category
1990s French Day Dresses
- Comme des Garçons ivory muslin embroidered draped dress, ss 1984By Comme des GarçonsLocated in London, GBComme des Garçons; Ivory muslin dress. Grey loosely stitched embroidery, large asymmetric drape on skirt, one armhole. Can be worn in various ways. Sprin...Category
1980s Japanese Day Dresses
- Junya Watanabe floral cotton dress with harness straps and backpack, ss 2003By Junya WatanabeLocated in London, GB▪ Junya Watanabe cotton dress ▪ All-over floral pattern with pale blue background ▪ Puff sleeves ▪ Adjustable white harness straps ▪ Detachable backpack ▪ Double layered skirt ▪...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Day Dresses
- Maison Martin Margiela Spring 1999 Trompe-L'œil Semi Couture BodiceBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in San Diego, CAMaison Martin Margiela dressmaker bodice in Trompe-L'œil printed cotton featured on the spring 1999 runway in look eight adorned with hook-and-eye closures, number, and lettered with...Category
1990s European Tunics and Wrap Dresses
- Jean-Louis Scherrer Paris Boutique Silk Fauvist Floral DressBy Jean-Louis ScherrerLocated in Sharon, CTOffering a 1980's Scherrer floral printed silk dress, drawn in a loosely Dufy Fauvist manner. Front buttoned, 'drop' waist, partial side zipper, skirt silk lined. Size 42, numbered...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- DOLCE & GABBANA - Grey Alpaca Wool Knit Bodycon Sleeveless Dress Size 6US 38EUBy D&G by DOLCE & GABBANA, Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Cuggiono, MIExpertly crafted from a soft blend of alpaca wool, this dark grey sleeveless knitted dress from Dolce & Gabbana will surely make a sophisticated addition to your wardrobe this season...Category
2010s Italian Sheath Dresses
- Louis Vuitton & Marc Jacobs 2011 one shoulder tunic / dressBy Louis VuittonLocated in Алматинский Почтамт, KZMarc Jacobs by Louis Vuitton Collection: Louis Vuitton Fall / Winter 2011 Material: cotton Details: logo Marked Size: xs asymmetric t-shirt dress t...Category
2010s Italian Day Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier JPG Basquiat Opaque Sketch Graffiti Comic Street Art DressBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier JPG Basquiat Opaque mesh sketch graffiti comic street art vintage 90s Optical Butterfly Maxi Long Tattoo Dress Robe Long dress Jean Paul Gaultier Jeans 0001 colle...Category
1990s French Maxi Dresses
- Alexander McQueen Rose Flower Floral Drape Tie Ribbon 2005 Belt Open Back DressBy Alexander McQueenLocated in PARIS, FRAlexander McQueen MCQ Rose Flower Floral Drape Tie Ribbon 2005 Vintage Belt Open Back Dress Black White Fromal Wedding Cocktail Midi Dress Bought at Alexander McQueen sample...Category
Early 2000s Italian Maxi Dresses
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.