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Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion

An arresting array of more than 150 garments and accessories, from the gloriously elegant to the rebelliously provocative, by the iconoclastic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood will be showcased in this spirited and engaging exhibition. The work, created over 35 years, encompasses styles from the street style of the 1970s to grand ball gowns whose designs were influenced by historical art and dress, to the more recent exploration of pattern-cutting techniques and socio-political critique. Organized by the V&A, London, the exhibition is the largest display that the museum has ever dedicated to a British designer and features designs selected from both the V&A’s collection and Vivienne Westwood’s personal archive. The San Francisco showing is the only North American venue of a four-year international tour of European, Asian, and Pacific Rim venues. Vivienne Westwood (b. 1941) is a global icon as well as an iconoclast. In the 1970s, she electrified the fashion world with the launch of punk and went on to become one of the most inventive and influential designers of our time. Fashion to her became “a baby I picked up and never put down.” Known best for her willingness to take risks and to disregard conventions, she also has a profound respect for the past and such as corsets and crinolines and reinvents them in new ways. Another hallmark of her ever-evolving work is her use of thoroughly British fabrics such as tartans and tweeds to create fashion that gently parodies Establishment styles and the royalty. Regardless of how outrageous or provocative the result may be however, her approach has always been practical. She is driven by a curiosity about how things work, and her work reflects her systematic exploration of the structure of historical costume. Vivienne Westwood: “You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes” A major influence on fashion design, her career ranges from street wear and haute couture to ready-to-wear; from outfits that she designed in the 1970s for the Sex Pistols, the corsetry and ball gowns of the 1980s and 1990s and the innovative pattern cutting of the most recent years. Her work spans the extremes of fashion, from London street culture to the elegant collections created for the catwalks of Paris, London and Milan and reveals Westwood’s own evolution from subversive shop owner to one of fashion’s most respected and colourful figures. The V&A curator of the Westwood exhibition, Claire Wilcox, says: “Highly influential and always ahead of her time, Vivienne Westwood encapsulates a particular kind of Britishness, combining fearless non-conformity with a sense of tradition….” The exhibition includes sections devoted to tailoring, tartan, and accessories, and the famous blue mock-croc platform shoes that Naomi Campbell wore when she fell on the catwalk in 1993 will also be on display. Film and catwalk footage about the life and career of Westwood will be shown throughout the exhibition. Vivienne Westwood’s contribution to British fashion was honored in 1990 and 1991 when she was awarded British Designer of the Year twice in a row. The global strength of her business was recognized in 1998 when she was given the Queen’s Award for Export, and in 2003 she was named Export Designer of the Year and awarded the UK Fashion Export Award for Design. Her place in British cultural history was firmly established in 2006 when she became the first ever British designer to receive a OBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her outstanding contribution to fashion. Vivienne Westwood is both iconoclast and global icon. In the 1970s, she electrified the world with the launch of punk fashion and went on to become one of the most inventive and influential designers of our time. Fashion to her became "a baby I picked up and never put down." This exhibition, which was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and which makes the de Young its only U.S. stop on an international tour, celebrates Westwood’s extraordinary, nearly 40-year-long career. Known best for her fearless nonconformity, she also has a profound respect for the past and looks to it for inspiration. With tradition as her springboard, she takes historic garments such as corsets and crinolines and reinvents them in new ways or uses thoroughly British fabrics like tartans and tweeds to create fashion that gently parodies Establishment styles. However outrageous or provocative the result, her approach has always been practical. She is driven by a curiosity about how things work, and her work reflects her systematic exploration of the structure of historical costume in museum collections. Westwood's extraordinary range and inventiveness is showcased in the more than 150 objects that make up the exhibition, all drawn from her personal archive and the V&A's collection. The work spans the extremes of fashion, from London street style to the catwalks of Paris and London, and reveals Westwood’s own evolution from subversive shop owner to one of fashion’s most respected figures. The other venues of the international tour of Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion are V&A, London, 1 April through 11 July 2004; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 11 November 2004 through 30 January 2005; Bund Shanghai, 8 July through 7 August, 2005; Taipei Fine Arts Museums, 1 September through 19 October 2005; Mori Arts Center Gallery, Tokyo, 23 November 2005 through 15 January 2006; NRW Forum, Dusseldorf, 4 February through 14 May 2006; and Thailand Creative and Design Centre, Bangkok, 22 July through 24 September 2006. NICKY LONDON COLUMN MENU          /          VIVIENNE WESTWOOD MENU