Vivienne Westwood red rose print corset and platforms ensemble, ss 1993
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood red rose print corset and platforms ensemble, ss 1993
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: UK 8 - EU 36 - Small (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14027070082
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.
- Vivienne Westwood black velvet corset and bustled skirt, fw 1996By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood black velvet evening corset and bustled skirt ensemble Fall-Winter 1996Category
1990s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaia butterfly printed corset and skirt ensemble, fw 1991By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBAzzedine Alaia iconic butterfly printed corset and skirt ensemble. Corset with cut outs, zip fastening and built in padded bra; paired with fitted pencil skirt. Fall-Winter 1991Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Prada by Miuccia Prada black lace evening ensemble, fw 2008By Prada, Miuccia PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Prada evening skirt suit ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Black 3D Swiss lace ▪ Cropped halter vest ▪ Pencil skirt with removable lining ▪ Technical fabric peplum belt...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana black long-sleeve corset and maxi skirt ensemble, fw 1997By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana corset and skirt evening ensemble ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Constructed from a fine silk with 10% elastane for a slight stretch ▪ Long-sleeve corset...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana black silk corset and bustle skirt ensemble, fw 1992By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBDolce & Gabbana black silk corset and bustle skirt ensemble Fall-Winter 1992Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood Couture navy striped silk corset and skirt set, ss 1998By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood Couture navy striped chiffon evening two piece ▪ 100% Silk ▪ Off-shoulder corset with draped neckline ▪ Internal boning designed to cinch the waist and push brea...Category
1990s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Rare Zoran crepe-de chine tunicBy ZoranLocated in New York, NYThis rare elegant Zoran silk crepe-de-chine "Studio 54" item can be worn as a tunic or can be belted wrapped and wore as a mini dress. On both sides are high cut slits. And al...Category
1970s Italian Mini Dress
- Vintage Red Kimono Silk Brocade Japanese Ceremonial GownLocated in North Hollywood, CAA vintage midcentury red color silk brocade collectable Japanese ceremonial wedding kimono. One of a kind handcrafted . Fabulous museum quality ceremonial piece in pure silk with in...Category
20th Century Japanese Wedding Dresses
$1,200 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage Kimono Red Silk Brocade Japanese Wedding DressLocated in North Hollywood, CAA vintage midcentury red silk brocade collectable Japanese ceremonial wedding kimono. One of a kind handcrafted fabulous museum quality ceremonial piece in pure silk with intricate d...Category
20th Century Japanese Wedding Dresses
$1,800 Sale Price20% Off - Vintage Kimono Silk Brocade Japanese Ceremonial GownLocated in North Hollywood, CAA vintage Mid-Century ivory color silk brocade collectable Japanese ceremonial kimono. One of a kind hand crafted. Fabulous museum quality ceremonial piece in pure silk with intricat...Category
20th Century Japanese Wedding Dresses
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off - Christian Dior Velvet Velour Vintage 50s 60s 70s 80s Robe Medium Large DressBy Christian DiorLocated in PARIS, FRVelvet evening dress by Christian Dior! Probably from the 60s! Velvet fabric with ornament at the collar and the sleeves. EXCELLENT condition. Extra closure with the inner cords. ...Category
1950s Evening Dresses
- Beautiful Vintage Silk Kimono Dress Gown 1950s Couture Asian Robe Coat 40s 50sLocated in Berlin, BEHollywood Glamour Vibes. Not sure if I'm really ready to part with her but oh well... This true beauty is what boudoir dreams are made of. The most amazing pure Silk Kimono Dress...Category
1950s Loungewear
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.