Vivienne Westwood Crystal & Taffeta Corset
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood Crystal & Taffeta Corset
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 10 (UK)
- Style:2000s (In the Style Of)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU454329341
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 Gianfranco Ferre Black Velvet BodysuitBy Gianfranco FerréLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection is excited to offer a vintage Gianfranco Ferre black velvet bodysuit featuring a scoop neck, short sleeves, snap crotch, sheer bottom, an...Category
1990s Italian Bodysuits
- Jean Paul Gaultier Black & Gray Dancers Kimono Robe 2002By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier black and grey Yukata robe with watercolor dancers print. This collection was p...Category
Early 2000s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Lolita Lempicka Floral Embroidered Bustier 2000By Lolita LempickaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Lolita Lempicka black bustier corset top with floral embroidery, beading and black satin ribbon laces in the back, and silk lining....Category
Early 2000s French Corsets
- Dolce & Gabbana Lace Corset Top With Blue Laces 2002By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Dolce & Gabbana D&G champagne lace and satin bustier corset lingerie top featuring demi bust cups, blue satin laces and bows, ruffl...Category
Early 2000s Italian Corsets
- Vintage Helmut Lang Ivory Bondage Front Top 2001By Helmut LangLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Helmut Lang off-white silk knit tank top with halter neck and bondage multi-strap details at front. Collection Spring 2001. Excellent Vint...Category
Early 2000s Shirts
- John Galliano Navy Blue Swiss Dot Silk Slip Dress With Blue Velvet BowsBy John GallianoLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage navy blue John Galliano slip dress featuring classic Swiss dot fabric, blue velvet ribbon bows a...Category
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
- Balmain jacquard lame evening blazer, c. 2010By Balmain, Christopher DecarninLocated in London, GBA rare and highly sought after Balmain evening blazer from the Fall 2010 runway collection, designed by Christophe Decarnin. The blazer is in a high quality jacquard fabric with gold...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Lingerie
- Vivienne Westwood black velvet button-up corset, fw 1998By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood black velvet corset ▪ 77% Cotton, 21% Rayon, 2% Lycra ▪ Large orb buttons ▪ Front zip closure ▪ UK 12 - FR 40 - US 8 ▪ Fall-Winter 1998Category
1990s Italian Corsets
- Dolce & Gabbana black knitted wool strapless corset, fw 2010By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana black knitted corset ▪ 45% Wool, 28% Acrylic, 10% Nylon, 6% Merinos Wool, 6% Polyester, 3% Alpaca, 2% Angora ▪ Lining: 50% Virgin Wool, 48% Silk, 2% Elastane ▪ In...Category
2010s Italian Corsets
- Jean Paul Gaultier grey pinstripe wool three piece corseted pant suit, c. 2000sBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier grey pinstripe wool three piece suit comprising: blazer jacket with two-way front zipper, corseted waist with lace-up back fastening, wide leg pants, corset with m...Category
Early 2000s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
- Dolce & Gabbana black corset and leggings set, fw 1992By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana black corset suit ▪ Satin corset with attached white cotton shirt collar and cuffs ▪ Internal boning ▪ Wool jersey sleeves ▪ Extra long ruched wool jersey legging...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Gianni Versace beaded halterneck corset bra with crystal embellishment, fw 1989By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace silk corset bra ▪ Fully beaded with black and clear beads ▪ Crystal embellishment ▪ Halterneck ▪ Hook fastenings at centre back ▪ IT 4...Category
1980s Italian Corsets