Vintage Vivienne Westwood Hot Pink Corset Gown
View Similar Items
Vintage Vivienne Westwood Hot Pink Corset Gown
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: UK 12 / US 4-6 (NA)
- Style:1990s (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4511873372
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.
- Jacques Cassia Pink Gown With Metal DetailsBy Jacques CassiaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Jacques Cassia pink gown featuring metal detailing, skinny straps with chain links, and a cover...Category
1990s Monacan Evening Gowns
- Vintage Yves Saint Laurent YSL Pink Taffeta Ruffle Party DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Yves Saint Laurent silk taffeta peasant dress featuring a square collar, short ruffle sleeves, red sash, full skirt, and tiered ruf...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- Balenciaga By Ghesquiere Black Peplum Coat DressBy BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière black coat dress featuring a high collar, ruffle insets in the bod...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana Black Velvet Mini Dress With Fringe Hem & Rhinestone StrapsBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Dolce & Gabbana black velvet slip dress featuring a fitted body, skinny straps with rhinestones, a fringe hem, and knee-length. D...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Versace Black Leather Pinstripe Tank Dress 1990SBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer Gianni Versace black leather day dress featuring an dotted pinstriping,tank body, front kangaroo pocket, and fitted sexy silhouette. Versac...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses
- Balenciaga by Ghesquiere Black Cocktail Mini Dress 2007By BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere black viscose cocktail dress featuring an empire waistline, drape ...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage 1950's Duchess Satin Sweet Pink Pleated Dress UK 8-10 US 4-6Located in Cheltenham, GBA true beauty to behold. This original 1950's duchess satin dress, rendered in a soft shade of sweet pink and accented by the most divine pleat wor...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
- Gianni Versace F/W 2002 Star Flower Collage Print Plunge Neck Fit & Flare DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella Versace for Gianni VersaceLocated in Chicago, ILDesigned by Donatella Versace for the fall/winter 2002 collection. This Gianni Versace Couture labeled piece features a multicolor psychedelic floral and star cluster pattern, featured in fashion...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion Nude Ethic Trompe l'oeil Vanessa Guide DressBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion Nude Body Ethic Trompe l'oeil Venus Stiped Mesh Maxi Dress Jean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion ...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
- Versace pink medusa logo runway dress, SS 2005By Donatella VersaceLocated in London, GBMy Runway Archive presents this Iconic and super rare runway dress from the Versace SS 2005 collection. Worn by Melania Trump and Lil Kim. A customised...Category
Early 2000s European Evening Dresses
- Armani Collezioni Salamander Pink Crepe Trim One Shoulder Evening Gown MBy Armani CollezioniLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2Gorgeously designed to make you look divine, this one shoulder evening gown from Armani Collezioni is love at first sight! The salamander pink crepe creation features a flattering fe...Category
2010s Unknown Evening Gowns
- Max Mara Coral Pink Stretch Crepe Draped Sheath Dress LLocated in Dubai, Al Qouz 2This sheath dress hails from the house of Max Mara. Crafted from quality fabrics, it comes with a pure silk lining. It carries a coral pink hue. This sleeveless dress is a luxurious ...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns