S/S 1991 Vivienne Westwood White Satin Corset
View Similar Items
S/S 1991 Vivienne Westwood White Satin Corset
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 15.7 in (39.88 cm)Marked Size: 12 (UK)Bust: 30.4 in (77.22 cm)Waist: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Period:
- Condition:In very good vintage condition with light wear throughout, including slight pilling throughout sides and interior; has been taken to professional couture cleaners.
- Seller Location:North Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3084219827942
Vivienne Westwood
For someone who regularly swatted away the industry that made her, audacious British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood certainly knew her way around a garment. And she knew how to provoke. “I don’t follow fashion,” Westwood once told the New York Times. “I’ve never been interested in it.” Collectors are certainly interested in her work, and vintage Vivienne Westwood dresses, handbags, lingerie and jackets have become very desirable over the years.
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 necklaces and other 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.
For the colorful corsets of her 1990 Portrait collection, Westwood drew on 18th-century oil paintings — her models donned the pearl necklaces that have become a social media star and a favorite of influencers and fashion lovers all over the world. For a jacket-and-shorts suit from her Fall/Winter 1996–97 Storm in a Teacup line, the designer used the extreme asymmetry of a tartan mash-up to confront, according to Westwood, “the horror of uniformity and minimalism.”
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 garnered accolades for introducing corsets to the runway and dressed Kate Moss and Helena Bonham Carter. And an original Vivienne Westwood wedding dress is featured in 2008’s Sex and the City film.
The fires of political and environmental activism burned brightly for Westwood: She was 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 shirts, shoes, gowns and other items today on 1stDibs.
- A/W 1992 Vivienne Westwood 'Always on Camera' Rolls Royce Print CorsetBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in North Hollywood, CAA/W 1992 Vivienne Westwood 'Always on Camera' collection Rolls Royce print super rare denim corset. Fitted sleeveless corset with boning and blue and white Rolls Royce print on front...Category
1990s Shirts
- A/W 1991 Vivienne Westwood 'Dressing Up' Pink and Green Striped CorsetBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in North Hollywood, CAA/W 1991 Vivienne Westwood 'Dressing Up' Collection pink and green striped corset. Sleeveless 18th-Century inspired pink corset with green stripe pattern throughout. Stretch side pan...Category
1990s Shirts
- S/S 1998 Atelier Versace Haute Couture Purple Strapless Oroton Chainmail TopBy Atelier VersaceLocated in North Hollywood, CAS/S 1998 Atelier Versace (Haute Couture) purple strapless Oroton chainmail top. Fully chainmail exterior with purple silk-satin interior lining. Atelier Versace signature 'Oroton' ch...Category
1990s Shirts
- A/W 1988 Paco Rabanne Haute Couture Gold Chainmail Bustier GownBy Paco RabanneLocated in North Hollywood, CAA/W 1988 Paco Rabanne Haute Couture gown with floral chainmail bust and black and gold feather patterned velvet sleeves. Features long gold cube drop chain with black tassel at back....Category
1980s Bustiers
- S/S 1991 Issey Miyake Blue 3D Cage TopBy Issey MiyakeLocated in North Hollywood, CAS/S 1991 Issey Miyake deep blue 3D cage top with laser-cut accents throughout. Short sleeve top with bateau neckline. An incredible multi-dimensional piece of wearable art, with incr...Category
1990s Shirts
- S/S 1999 Dries Van Noten White and Gray Gradient Stripe Bustle GownBy Dries van NotenLocated in North Hollywood, CAS/S 1999 Dries van Noten white and gray gradient stripe bustle gown. Spaghetti strap gown with long hem that can be buttoned into bustle. Cross-back straps...Category
1990s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana Denim Button downLocated in New York, NYSize: S Runs true to size Material: Denim Summer's Measurements: Height: 5"9 inches Bust: 32" inches Waist: 25" inches Hips: 36" inchesCategory
1990s Shirts
- Mission Striped Knit TeeLocated in New York, NYSize: XS Material: 67% Viscose, 33% Cotton Summer's Measurements: Height: 5"9 inches Bust: 32" inches Waist: 25" inches Hips: 36" inchesCategory
1990s T-Shirts
- KENZO JUNGLE Koi fish mesh Club Kid Shirt, late 1990sBy Kenzo Jungle, KenzoLocated in Genève, CH1990's Kenzo Jeans sheer stretch t-shirt with lovely Japanese theme print in a wonderful turquoise. Fabric is a sheer nylon stretch mesh, the kind that Gaultier made famous, and come...Category
1990s French T-Shirts
- 1974 Vivienne Westwood x Malcolm McClaren SEX tank topBy Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne WestwoodLocated in Berlin, BEArchive tank top, 100% Cotton Length 47 cm, Width 36cm. Made in London, England. Museum worthy archive item. • Located in the 430 King’s Road, Vivienne Westwood opened SEX shop...Category
1970s English Tank Tops
- Chanel Fall 1998 Striped Knit TankBy ChanelLocated in New York, NYSuper Rare & Coveted. Fall 1998 Chanel Black & White Striped Knit Tank Top Shoulders 13 in Bust 34 in Waist 34 in Length 24 in Marked Size IT 42 Excellent Vintage Condition. Can acc...Category
1990s Tank Tops
- Maison Martin Margiela ShirtBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in COLLINGWOOD, AUMaison Martin Margiela Men's Shirt in pale grey and contrast black binding. Iconic item in great condition.Category
2010s Italian Shirts
$256 Sale Price20% Off