S/S 2002 Vivienne Westwood Couture OOAK Sheer Black Avant Garde Dress
View Similar Items
S/S 2002 Vivienne Westwood Couture OOAK Sheer Black Avant Garde Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Unknown- Fits XS-M (UK)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Light wear- no holes or stains.
- Seller Location:Yukon, OK
- Reference Number:Seller: 7411stDibs: LU40623756833
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.
- F/W 1988 Azzedine Alaia Runway Sheer Black Cut-Out or Cross Front Mini DressBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: F/W 1988 Azzedine Alaia- can be worn 2 ways as seen in the photos. CONDITION: Excellent FABRIC: 100% cotton COUNTRY MADE: ...Category
1980s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- F/W 2004 Runway Atelier Versace Black Sheer Mesh Cut Out Studs Beaded Gown DressBy Atelier Versace, Donatella VersaceLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: F/W 2004 Atelier Versace CONDITION: Excellent MATERIAL: 99% silk 1% nylon COUNTRY MADE: Italy SIZE: 40- runs small MEASUREM...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- Unworn F/W 1999 Dolce & Gabbana Runway Sheer Black Silk & Lace Long Cape DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: F/W 1999 Dolce & Gabbana Runway CONDITION: Pristine- Unworn! FABRIC: Silk COUNTRY MADE: Italy SIZE: 42- but as it ties shut...Category
1990s Italian Capes
- 2003 Christian Dior by John Galliano Black Plunging Extra High Slit Gown DressBy John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: 2003 Christian Dior by John Galliano CONDITION: Good MATERIAL: Acetate & Viscose COUNTRY MADE: France SIZE: 38 MEASUREMENTS...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses
- S/S 2004 Christian Dior John Galliano Black 20's Style Drop Waist Silk DressBy John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: S/S 2004 Christian Dior by John Galliano CONDITION: Good- no holes or stains FABRIC: Silk COUNTRY: France SIZE: F-38 MEASUR...Category
Early 2000s French Mini Dresses
- Vintage S/S 1997 Gucci by Tom Ford Runway Red Velvet Chain Strap Backless DressBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Yukon, OK**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH MES DEUX FILLES** DESIGNER: S/S 1997 Gucci by Tom Ford Runway- second photo is Kate Moss wearing the dress in Harpers Bazaar CONDITION: Good- The origi...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Badgley Mischka Beaded Black Silk Lace Evening Gown Size US 10By Badgley MischkaLocated in New York, NYBadgley Mischka glamorous black silk lace evening gown, size US 10. Gown features hand beaded and embroidered lace with glass jet beading, and neckline with glass jet beads along cu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Gowns
- Rare CEIL CHAPMAN 1950s Vintage Black Satin COUTURE Cocktail Dress XS/SBy Ceil ChapmanLocated in Asheville, NCCeil Chapman, 1950's Era, Pleated Front and Back Panels, Front Bow, Open Top Puff Sleeves with Bows on Ends, Round Neck, Bone In Front and Sides, Back Zipper, Hook and Eye Black Clos...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
$1,750 Sale Price30% Off - Rare LARRY ALDRICH COUTURE 1950s Silk Taffeta Bow & Button Cocktail DressLocated in Asheville, NCLarry Aldrich, 1950's Era Vintage Couture, Silk Taffeta, V Neck Front Wrap Style with Bow, Two Front Pockets, Nine Fabric Back Buttons, Built-in Moderate Crinoline with Hook and Eye ...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
$909 Sale Price30% Off - Calvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress, c. 1990s.By Calvin KleinLocated in New York, NYCalvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress, c. 1990s. Calvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress featuring low cut V-ncekline and shoulder pads. Beautiful Lace hem extends past chiffon linin...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Gown with Open Back, 1990.By Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Gown with Open Back, 1990. Full length woven dress with waistband. Features slit at center front and open ...Category
1990s French Evening Dresses
- Gianfranco Ferré black gown with sheer sleeves, ca. 1970By Gianfranco FerréLocated in New York, NYGianfranco Ferré black gown with sheer sleeves, ca. 1970 Long black wool dress with subtle shimmer featuring waistcoat-style bodice with sheer sleeves. Mermaid skirt features diagona...Category
1970s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses