Vivienne Westwood Black Leather Granny Frame Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Montreal, CA
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: MONTREAL, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Givenchy Vintage Black Satin Embroidery Flap BagBy GivenchyLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis vintage Givenchy bag is made with black satin and features ornate embroidery on the front flap and a long fabric strap for crossbody carry. A classic and sophisticated style. C...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoulder Bags
- Mulberry S2017 Runway Studded BagBy MulberryLocated in Montreal, QuebecLeather bag from Mulberry with navy, red and white stripes with silver-tone studs and silver-tone hardware. COLOR: Red, white, navy with sliver spikes ITEM CODE: MAC MATERIAL: Leath...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Shoulder Bags
- Mulberry Mable Brown Python Bowling BagBy MulberryLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis Mulberry Bowling bag is made of python skin and features two exterior zip pockets and two exterior slip pockets with suede lining, an interior zip pocket, lined in Mulberry’s si...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Shoulder Bags
- Chanel CC Charm Metallic Quilted Crossbody Bag 2014By ChanelLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt was available to select Chanel customers during the December 2014 holiday season. Black metallic quilted material with dark silver CC logo charm and a dark sliver toned chain inte...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Moschino Patent Leather Navy Bandouliere BagBy MoschinoLocated in Montreal, QuebecSuper cute and small and a perfect gift for a baby for a first handbag :) This Moschino super mini bag is made with patent leather with a large gold tone shoulder strap for cross body cary. Featuring a mini horse...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoulder Bags
- Celine Shiny Calfskin Small C Bag 2018By CelineLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis classic Celine C bag is made from calfskin leather and features gold tone metalware, a fold-over top with push lock closure, a gold chain link shoulder strap, logo plaque at the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoulder Bags
- Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Capucine MM BagBy Louis VuittonLocated in London, GBIntroducing the mesmerising fusion of luxury and avant-garde artistry - the Louis Vuitton Capucine MM bag, a stunning collaboration with...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Chanel 22 Mini Shiny Calfskin BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA lovely Chanel 22 Mini Bag. The exterior is crafted in quilted black shiny calfskin leather with gold-tone hardware. It features a gold tone logo in the front, a dangling CC logo me...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Bucket Bags and Drawstring Bags
- Hermès Special Order Kelly Sellier 35cm Noir Veau Epsom GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA gorgeous Hermès Kelly 35cm bag. The exterior of this Special Order Kelly features a sellier style in noir black veau epsom leather. The noir leather is complemented with gold hardw...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Goyard Black Bellechasse Biaude PM BagBy GoyardLocated in London, GBA lovely Bellechasse Biaude PM handbag by Goyard from the Bellechasse Biaude collection. The exterior is crafted in black Decize Taurillon leather & Cervon calfskin leather with pall...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Hermès Herbag Zip Retourne 31 Noir Toile Miltaire/Vache Hunter GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA chic Hermes Herbag Zip 31 handbag. The exterior of this Herbag features a top handle with a crossbody strap in Noir Vache Hunter leather on the top section whereas the body of the ...Category
2010s Swiss Shoulder Bags
- Chanel 2.55 Reissue Maxi Double Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA Chic Chanel 2.55 Reissue Maxi Double Flap Handbag. The exterior of this reissue 2.55 is crafted in metallic champagne lambskin leather with signature diamond stitching and dark sil...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Evening Bags and Minaudières
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.
The Fendi Baguette Is an ‘It’ Bag Again, 25 Years After Its Introduction
Iconic Italian fashion houses Fendi and Versace teamed up on this delightfully outrageous Fendace reimagining.