Worlds End 'Savages' hammerhead lizard skin shoes, circa 1982
View Similar Items
Worlds End 'Savages' hammerhead lizard skin shoes, circa 1982
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14022194483
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.
- 1940s tan crocodile open toe platform wedge shoes, sz 38Located in London, GB1940s tan crocodile open toe platform wedge shoes ca. 1940-1949Category
1940s Singaporean Shoes
- Dolce & Gabbana tan and brown leather platform sandals, sz 39By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBDolce & Gabbana tan and brown leather platform sandals ca. 1990-1999Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- Vivienne Westwood black leather and suede platformsBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood black leather and suede platforms ca. 1990-1996Category
1990s British Shoes
- Vivienne Westwood black suede round toe pumpsBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood black suede round toe pumps with buckle closure ca. 1986-1990Category
1980s British Shoes
- Azzedine Alaia black leather and crochet pointed heels, ca. 1985-1988By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBPancaldi for Azzedine Alaia ca. 1985-1988Category
1980s Shoes
- Hussein Chalayan Autumn-Winter 2002 black leather bondage shoes with metal heelBy Hussein ChalayanLocated in London, GBHussein Chalayan Autumn-Winter 2002 black leather shoes with metal heelCategory
Early 2000s British Shoes
- Dior FW 2002 Rasta SneakersBy Christian DiorLocated in Avon, CT- Guaranteed 100% Authentic. - Great preowned condition. Sneakers were cleaned by professionals at Rago, great vintage condition. These shoes are rarely found with the Dior charm in...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shoes
- Vintage Christian Dior Knee High Monogram Diorissimo BootsBy Christian DiorLocated in Malibu, CAThese fabulous pink & white vintage sneaker boots by John Galliano for Dior are covered in Christian Dior's monogram diorissimo print. From the runway!...Category
20th Century Boots
- Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 sculptural snakeskin heels Size 7By Alexander McQueenLocated in Malibu, CAFrom the Spring 2012 Ready-To-Wear Runway Show Cream colored snakeskin shoe that lace up all the way Heel Height 6" Condition: - soles have normal wear for being pre owned - very ...Category
2010s Heels
- Jimmy Choo, Dakota 100 metallic wedgeBy Jimmy ChooLocated in AMSTERDAM, NLJimmy Choo, Dakota 100 metallic lizard effect wedge. The item is new - unworn • CONDITION: new - unworn • SIZE: 38.5 • INSOLE MEASUREMENTS: 25 cm • HEEL MEASUREMENTS: 11 cm PLAT...Category
2010s Shoes
- Pair of Art Noveau Antique Sterling Silver Shoe Buckles c1890 by William KerrLocated in valatie, NYPair of Art Noveau Antique Sterling Silver Shoe Buckles c1890 by William Kerr. The buckles are oval and the fronts have engraved decoration, with a ...Category
Late 19th Century American Shoes
- SAINT LAURENT brown suede LEOPARD LACE UP Boots Shoes 40By Saint LaurentLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Saint Laurent lace-up knee-high boots in camel and espresso brown leopard print suede. Lined in espresso brown calfskin. Open with a zipper on the inside. Brand new. R...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Boots
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.