Vivienne Westwood Vintage Skirt Gray Wool Cashmere Avant Garde Anglomania
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood Vintage Skirt Gray Wool Cashmere Avant Garde Anglomania
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Portland, OR
- Reference Number:Seller: 62251stDibs: LU22321256702
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.
- Elegant 1970s Jean Varon John Bates Vintage Skirt Evening Satin Long Size 8By Jean Varon, John BatesLocated in Portland, ORThis incredible vintage skirt is from Jean Varon and was designed by John Bates and made in England in the 1970's. This black rayon blend satin tone on tone striped skirt has a slim ...Category
1970s British Skirts
- Anthony Muto For Moroci Black Satin Vintage Skirt Evening Size 10By Anthony MutoLocated in Portland, ORThis is a pristine black satin skirt from Anthony Muto for Moroci. The skirt is labeled a size 10 but please use the measurements as the best guide to a proper fit. The skirt has a ...Category
1980s Unknown Puff Skirts
- Chanel Spring Summer 2001 Black Wool Skirt With CC Logo Monogram Size 42By Karl Lagerfeld, ChanelLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage Chanel Spring / Summer 2001 black a-line wool skirt with subtle seams and oval CC logo plate sewn into the waistband. This skirt fits right into the modern aestheti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Skirts
- Diane Freis Vintage 2 Pc Dress W Drawstring Top & Gored Skirt in Floral PrintBy Diane FreisLocated in Portland, ORWe have re-discovered our love affair with Diane Freis pieces and this one is one of our favorites! This Diane Freis Original two piece dress includes a gored skirt...Category
1980s Hong Kong Day Dresses
- 1980s Escada Margaretha Ley Silk Animal Print Blouse & Brown Wrap Skirt w/ BeltBy Margaretha Ley Escada, EscadaLocated in Portland, ORThis is an incredible 2 piece Escada ensemble designed by Margaretha Ley in the 1980's. This outfit came from an estate of clothing we handled that included the best of the 1980's and many unique Escada pieces. This has a chocolate brown wool poly blend skirt that wraps to close with a button and an attached belt with a buckle. It is gently pleated and is labeled a size 34. The yellow and brown textured silk animal print blouse...Category
1980s German Blouses
$358 Sale Price54% Off - 1980s Norma Kamali Vintage Floral Fish tail skirt Size 10By Norma KamaliLocated in Portland, ORThis pretty vintage floral silk skirt was designed by Norma Kamali and is labeled a size 10. The skirt has a side zipper and double pleats at the bottom that allow it to form a fish ...Category
1980s Skirts
- Giorgio Armani Black Rayon Crepe Skirt Size EU40 / US 6By Giorgio Armani Le CollezioniLocated in New York, NYGiorgio Armani Le Collezioni flirty little black skirt with draped open front that flows from fitted waistband. Fabric is a soft rayon ble...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Joseph Belted Sash Black Skirt Size UK LBy JosephLocated in New York, NYThis is a skirt full of delightful surprises. It moves with you. Hidden slits and flaps, wrapped belted waist gives a variety of options for styling. The long sash belt allows for...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Bulgarian Skirts
$500 Sale Price28% Off - JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 1990 fringed denim skirt - part of a setBy Gaultier JeansLocated in Genève, CHBlue denim skirt with fringe trim by Jean Paul Gaultier, wear yours with the matching shirt. -Frayed fringe details along seams and hems -Metal zipper and logo on the side -100% Cot...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
$605 Sale Price30% Off - Comme des Garçons Skirt AD 2003By Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe Comme des GarçonsLocated in Berlin, BEFabulous pleated maxi skirt from Junya Watanabe for Comme des CDG AD 2003 Collection. Punk style, tattoo print. Size M.Category
Early 2000s Japanese Pleated Skirts
- JUNYA WATANABE COMME DES GARCONS Leather Pleated SkirtBy Junya Watanabe Comme des GarçonsLocated in Berlin, BEAmazing pleated black leather skirt by Japanese designer Junya Watanabe. The luxurious leather skirt is made form a soft leather - it is fitted at the waistband and pleated at the b...Category
2010s Japanese Pleated Skirts
- 1990's vintage Moschino cheap & chic mini skirtBy Moschino Cheap and Chic, MoschinoLocated in LAGNY-SUR-MARNE, FR1990's vintage Moschino cheap & chic mini skirt . It is in perfect condition with no damages. tweed aspect. 60% acetate 40% rayon Runs small please refer to measurements. Sizes Fr ...Category
1990s Italian Pencil Skirts