Vivienne Westwood Vintage F/W 1994 Tartan Co-ords Skirt Suit
View Similar Items
Vivienne Westwood Vintage F/W 1994 Tartan Co-ords Skirt Suit
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 8 (UK)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3757220550312
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.
- Versace Vintage F/W 1991 Cardigan & Skirt Suit SetBy Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Vintage Gianni Versace Fall Winter Fall Winter 1991 set. Cardigan features boat neckline, gold colour Versace logo hardware buttons and yellow trim. S...Category
1990s Italian Twin Sets
- Kansai Yamamoto Vintage 1980's Pinstripe SuitBy Kansai YamamotoLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Kansai Yamamoto Vintage Late 1980's Pinstripe Suit. Features patch on front, shoulder pads, single breast and high wais...Category
1980s Japanese Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Versace Vintage 1991 Betty Boop Co-ordBy VersaceLocated in London, GBWe are very excited to present this iconic Versace 1991 Betty Boop Co-ord. Features Cropped short sleeve jacket with single button and front pockets and high waisted mini skirt with ...Category
1990s Italian Twin Sets
- Jean Paul Gaultier Vintage 1980’s Corset Co-ordBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Jean Paul Gaultier Junior 1980’s co-ord. Features corset jersey top with front zipper and long sleeves, comes with matching high waisted jersey mini sk...Category
1980s French Twin Sets
- Jean Paul Gaultier Vintage 1990's Monogram Denim JumpsuitBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Jean Paul Gaultier Vintage 1990's Monogram Denim Jumpsuit. Features collar, silver buttons, pockets on top and bottom, zip...Category
1990s French Jumpsuits
- Fendi Vintage 1990's Pattern Co-ordBy FendissimeLocated in London, GBWe are excited to present this Fendi Vintage 1990's Pattern Co-ord. Features yellow and green print, grey collar and buttons down front with high wa...Category
1990s Italian Twin Sets
- S/S 1996 Thierry Mugler Sculptural Runway Museum Skirt Suit EnsembleBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Concord, NCOwn a piece of fashion history with this extraordinary documented Thierry Mugler Spring Summer 1996 skirt suit. Black and white jacket with a large folding ...Category
1990s French Skirt Suits
- Nina Ricci 'Boutique' Paris Black Silk SuitBy Nina RicciLocated in Sharon, CTOffering a Nina Ricci 'Boutique' Paris, Black silk suit retailed by Bergdorf Goodman. Puffy shoulders, skirted waist jacket, black on black polka dots,...Category
1980s French Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Issey Miyake Black Jacket & Bolero Pants early 80'sBy Issey MiyakeLocated in Sharon, CTFringed cocoon jacket, with fringed Bolero pants Japan size 10. 26" waist, 33" lengthCategory
1980s Japanese Trouser Pant Suits
- Nina Ricci Boutique Suit, Paris FranceBy Nina RicciLocated in Sharon, CTNina Ricci purple wool tweed double breasted skirt suit, fabric imported from Ireland. Ruffled edging on collar and sleeve cuffs. Nina Ricci Boutique...Category
1980s French Skirt Suits
- Henri Bendel Vintage Riding Habit Black velvetBy Henri BendelLocated in Sharon, CTEarly Henri Bendel Velvet Riding Habit. Jacket length 30". waist 34". Skirt length 35", waist 28".Category
Early 1900s American Skirt Suits
- Celine Paris Black Dress and JacketBy CelineLocated in Sharon, CTEnsemble black spaghetti straps short black dress and a long black jacket. Both in the same stretchy horizontal geometric woven design fabric. Dress...Category
1990s French Dress and Coat Ensembles