Vintage 1990's Vivienne Westwood Lace Corset Bustier & Sheer Pleated Skirt Set
View Similar Items
Vintage 1990's Vivienne Westwood Lace Corset Bustier & Sheer Pleated Skirt Set
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 14 (UK)Bust: 38 in (96.52 cm)Waist: 26 in (66.04 cm)
- Style:1990's (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Beverly Hills, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU30911693132
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.
- Vintage 1969 Nina Ricci Couture Documented Rainbow Block-Color Velvet Maxi DressBy Nina RicciLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThe French fashion house Nina Ricci, known for its feminine, ladylike clothing, has long been the go-to for Parisian chic. Elegant Frenchwomen and their daughters streamed steadily through the doors of Maison Ricci, seeking debutante dresses, party frocks and wedding trousseaus distinguished by fine details and luxurious fabrics. To achieve her figure-flattering cuts, the seasoned dressmaker draped on a live mannequin, pinning and snipping with a couturier's care. This breathtaking rainbow stripe block-color gown, dating back to fall-winter 1969, is a perfect example of this brand's genius. The bodice has lean, long sleeves with an hourglass wide sash belted waist. I adore the bold primary colors and flattering bell-shape skirting. I totally see this walking down any red carpet or at a special holiday event! Measurements Bust: 32-33 inches Waist: 25 inches Hips: up to 40 inches Total Length: 57 inches This Nina Ricci Couture...Category
1960s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Vintage 1973 Pierre Balmain Haute Couture Navy Silk Pleated Petal Collar GownBy Pierre BalmainLocated in Beverly Hills, CAUltra chic modernist Pierre Balmain haute couture navy blue gown dating back to the 1973 fall-winter collection. Pierre Balmain worked under Robert Pigi...Category
1970s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Vintage 1970s Jean Varon Documented Linen Jersey Graphic Print Peplum Maxi DressBy Jean VaronLocated in Beverly Hills, CABreathtaking spring-summer 1970 documented black linen and colorful op-art print jersey dress by the famous Jean Varon label. John Bates started the Jean Varon label in 1960 and is p...Category
1970s English Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage 1969 Mila Schön Italian Couture Black Purple Wool Mod Target Coat DressBy Mila SchonLocated in Beverly Hills, CAAn important and truly stunning Mila Schön Couture black and purple mod coat dress dating back to her 1968-69 fall/winter collection. She was living in Milan with her husband when sh...Category
1960s Italian Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage 1968 Christian Dior Couture London Stripe Silk Pleated Drop-Waist DressBy Christian Dior, Marc BohanLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThe House of Dior has been an enduring icon of Haute Couture. While the House of Dior is still a thriving business today, Dior's untimely death in 1957 left the fashion world without...Category
1960s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Iconic 1992 Gianni Versace Couture Documented Black Bondage Silk Leather GownBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Beverly Hills, CAAn exceptional, museum quality Gianni Versace black leather, silk & lace heavily sculpted bondage gown dating back to his iconic 1992 fall-winter runway collection. This iconic collection, provocatively titled 'Miss S&M' definitely goes down in history as one of Gianni Versace's most recognizable looks. Versace’s fantasies came to life, fetishistic elements were worked into glamorous eveningwear, and with no small effort: Vogue said, “Getting strapped required eight hands. These high-maintenance looks were meant to be seen, not in a dungeon somewhere, but on the red carpet." As shown, this particular show-stopper of a gown, Look #62, has been worn by the likes of Christy Turlington, Tyra Banks...Category
1990s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Golden Eagle Hawk Kendall Jenner Skirt Top SetBy Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil, Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Vintage Japanese Golden Eagle Koi Fish Kendall Jenner Wave Yellow Mesh Sheer Transparent Wrap T-shirt Skirt Top Dress Golden Japanese Eagle...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
$1,990 Sale Price30% OffFree Shipping - Lanvin long velvet dress 60s/70sBy Lanvin ParisLocated in Rubiera, RELANVIN 22. Faubourg St. Honoré _ PARIS 60s/70s Long printed velvet dress with large shocking pink and ruby red roses on a brown and gray background Round ne...Category
1970s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaia navy knitted virgin wool bodycon hooded dress, fw 1986By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaia knitted virgin wool dress ▪ Single zip fastening circles the body starting at the right hip and ending at the left breast ▪ Integral hood with scarf ending on one si...Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Christian Dior by John Galliano blue open-knit sleeveless bodycon dress, ss 2000By John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Christian Dior blue open-knit bodycon dress ▪ Designed by John Galliano ▪ Crew neck ▪ Knee-length ▪ Various knitted techniques used to create a shredded appearance to the fabric ▪...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Miu Miu by Miuccia Prada green wool fleece slip dress with crystals, ss 1998By Miu Miu, PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Miu Miu wool fleece slip dress ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Allover flat-back crystals ▪ Lace-up ties to the front opening ▪ Loose fit ▪ Fully line...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Martin Margiela artisanal dress made from reclaimed vintage dresses, fw 1993By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in London, GB▪ Rare Martin Margiela artisanal maxi dress ▪ Made from a patchwork of damaged 1940s dresses sourced by the designer at the flea markets in Paris ▪ Small - Medium ▪ Fall-Winter 1993 ...Category
1990s French Day 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.
Madonna Wore the Same Plunging Azzedine Alaïa Design on the Cover of ‘Cosmo’ in 1987
The gold silk stunner was part of a knockout collection that changed the trajectory of Alaïa's then-troubled brand.