1990s Vivienne Westwood ostrich feather wool wrap cardigan
View Similar Items
1990s Vivienne Westwood ostrich feather wool wrap cardigan
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1402975412
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.
- Jean Paul Gaultier black knitted chenille aran conical breast sweater, fw 1985By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier black chenille aran pullover sweater with wide standing collar, zip fastening at centre-back and signature Gaultier conical breast panels with nipples. Fall-Wint...Category
1980s Italian Sweaters
- Gianfranco Ferre black astrakhan fur bodysuit, fw 1999By Gianfranco FerréLocated in London, GB▪ Gianfranco Ferre black astrakhan fur bodysuit ▪ High neck with long fur detail ▪ Power-mesh bodysuit ▪ Astrakhan fur bodice ▪ Zip fastening ▪ IT 4...Category
1990s Italian Bodysuits
- John Galliano purple and black herringbone mohair sweater and skirt set, fw 1999By John GallianoLocated in London, GB▪ John Galliano purple mohair sweater and skirt set ▪ Black herringbone design with purple base ▪ Turn-over cuffs ▪ Large high-neck fold-over c...Category
1990s French Skirt Suits
- Gucci by Tom Ford black knitted wool and fur sweater and skirt set, fw 2002By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in London, GB▪ Gucci black knitted wool sweater and skirt set ▪ Designed by Tom Ford ▪ Heavyweight oversized chunky-knit sweater ▪ Matching pencil skirt with ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Yohji Yamamoto navy and black knitted wool oversized sweater, fw 1984By Yohji YamamotoLocated in London, GB▪ Yohji Yamamoto navy and black knitted sweater ▪ 90% Wool, 5% Cotton, 5% Polyurethane ▪ Extremely oversized fit ▪ Labelled size medium ▪ Fall-Winter 1984Category
1980s Japanese Sweaters
- Dolce & Gabbana black viscose cropped vest with colourful silk beads, ss 1992By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana rib-knit cropped vest ▪ 68% Viscose, 32% Nylon ▪ Multicoloured silk bead adornments ▪ IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6 ▪ Spring-Summer 1992Category
1990s Italian Sweater Vests
- Kenzo jungle blue leaves wool jacket / cardiganBy KenzoLocated in Capri, ITKenzo jungle wool jacket / cardigan Kenzo blue and green wool jacket embellished wit faux fur collar size LCategory
1990s Jackets
- Vintage Giorgio Grati cachemire cardigan jacketBy GIORGIO GRATILocated in Capri, ITVintage Giorgio Grati cachemire cardigan jacket totally made in italy in size M composition: Viscose, angoraCategory
1990s Italian Jackets
$193 Sale Price20% Off - Neiman Marcus Men Plush 2-Ply Charcoal-Gray Cashmere with "Horn" Buttons SweaterBy Neiman MarcusLocated in New York, NYNeiman Marcus warm plush charcoal-gray cashmere button sweater is accented with 4 "horn" buttons. Shawl collar keeps the neck nice and cozy. Please note: measurements are taken at "U...Category
Early 2000s Italian Sweaters
- Jil Sander Warm Brown Cashmere Two-Way Zipper Front SweaterBy Jil SanderLocated in New York, NYJil Sander wonderfully elegant warm brown cashmere zipper front sweater features a two-way zipper with the option to open either from the top o...Category
1990s Italian Cardigans
- Herve Leger Black Jersey Asymmetric Draped Open CardiganBy Herve LégerLocated in New York, NYHerve Leger black asymmetric cut black jersey open cardigan draped wonderfully over the bodice when wearing. The length in back measures 22", fron...Category
1990s Hong Kong Jackets
- COS Black Cotton Panel Front Accented with Sheer Side & Back CardiganLocated in New York, NYCOS wonderful detailed black cardigan with black cotton panel along the front as well as with two front pockets. There are detailed cotton panels along the neckline, cuffs and hem, a...Category
2010s Unknown Cardigans
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.