VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Punk & glamour A PRIVATE COLLECTION october 3, 2020 – may 9, 2021 “The fight is no longer between the classes or between rich and poor but between the idiots and the eco-conscious.”
“The sexiest people are thinkers.”
“Buy less, choose well & do it yourself!”
“When in doubt, overdress.”
“It is not possible for a man to be elegant without a touch of femininity.”
“Wear a towel instead of a coat, it’s very chic. Or your husband’s boxer shorts with a belt, or something from your grandmother. It’s all about do-it-yourself at the moment.”
– 2 – INTRODUCTION Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (b. 8 April 1941) is responsible for bringing modern punk and new romantic fashions into the mainstream. Along with individual tailoring, knitting techniques and as a supporter of political causes – Vivienne Westwood is the original punk rocker! This show illustrates her five decades in fashion – from her origins in the Do-It-Yourself of punk and her evolution into the glamour of haute couture. Westwood’s illustrious fashion career first began with Malcolm McLaren, future manager of punk band Sex Pistols, in the 1970s. Together they created clothing, which they sold from premises at 430 Kings Road, London. Their aesthetic shocked a conservative 1970s England featuring bondage suits made from military tartan, tops adorned with pins and bearing slogans like “Destroy” superimposed over a nazi swastika, and t-shirts featuring provocative images such as a pair of cowboys naked from the waist down. The shop on King’s Road went through a number of name changes – “SEX”, “Seditionaries”, “World’s End” – each reinvention opening up yet another imagined world. When her partnership with McLaren ended, Vivienne turned to tradition and craft. From the mid-1980s she rooted her work in tailoring and the self-taught Westwood apprenticed herself to the skills necessary to cut, sew and fold cloth. Westwood’s “mini-crini” design from 1985, a combined mini-skirt and Victorian crinoline was a turning point. For the next two decades, she created collections that took inspiration from classical sources, notably the paintings of 18th century painters Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher, and Antoine Watteau. Facsimiles of favourite paintings were printed directly onto her designs, for example Boucher’s Daphnis and Chloe, a painting held in London’s Wallace Collection. The Westwood logo, the orb and ring, used since 1985 is quintessentially British; part of the royal regalia held by the Queen at the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament. Together with the ‘Saturn’ ring this logo represents the taking of tradition into the future. In 1988, the Austrian designer Andreas Kronthaler met Westwood at the Vienna School of Applied Arts where she was a professor. He moved to London to work with her, in 1991 they designed their first joint collection, and two years later, they got married. Westwood has come a long way from maverick designer, to gradually becoming part of the establishment and in 1992 she received an Order of the British Empire and in 2006 the title of Dame Commander for her outstanding contribution to British fashion. Her clothes and products are today sold in more than 50 countries. Westwood remains a figurehead and creative force in fashion whilst she remains a passionate and committed activist. Over the years both her and her clothing have become increasingly more politicised. Westwood campaigns for freedom of speech, against climate change, protests to end fracking and advocates for the preserving the Arctic from mineral speculation. On display, curated by English collector Lee Price, are circa 350 items designed by Westwood, spanning from the 1970s to the 2010s. In addition, we show pictures taken by photographer Ki Price, where Westwood appear on both glamorous catwalks and on the streets of London, during political campaigns.
– 3 – 1970’s BIRTH OF PUNK Vivienne Westwood’s illustrious fashion career first began with her business and romantic partnership with Malcolm McLaren in the 1970s. McLaren was heavily influenced by the situationist movement, a group of avant-garde political revolutionaries that rejected capitalist authority and saw as its mission to subvert and challenge the bourgeois status quo through interventions. Together Westwood and McLaren created clothing inspired by this movement, which they sold from premises at 430 Kings Road, London. Their aesthetic shocked a conservative 1970s England featuring bondage suits made from military tartan, tops made from cheesecloth or muslin adorned with pins and bearing slogans like ”Destroy” superimposed over a swastika, and t-shits featuring provocative images such as a pair of cowboys naked from the waist down. Worn perhaps most famously by the band the Sex Pistols, the style known as “punk” resonated with the disenfranchised youth of London and issued a creative rebuke to establishment mores. Except for the Sex Pistols, Westwood’s and McLaren’s creations was worn by among others Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, Souxie Souix, Mick Jagger, New York Dolls, The Clash, Lou Reed, Rudolph Nureyev, Anita Pallenberg and Madonna – to name a few. Following the breakup of the Sex Pistols and the evolution of Punk into a more mainstream movement and realizing “we need ideas not kicking down a door” (Morrison, 2012), Westwood and McLaren moved on. The shop on King’s Road went through a number of name changes – ‘Sex’, ‘Seditionaries’, ‘World’s End’ – each reinvention opening up yet another imagined world. Westwood treated history and culture as a dressing-up box from which to recreate the self as a flamboyant and spectacular creature. They made clothes based on the costume of native Appalachians, swashbuckling pirates and a shocking inversion of underwear as outerwear. Their collections were exuberant, joyous and morphed into yet another musical movement centred on the Kings Road shop – New Romanticism characterised by Darcy shirts, sack and buckle boots and caped drama. While visiting McLaren in New York, where he had begun spending more time absorbed in music, Westwood also met the pop artist Keith Haring, discovering a mutual admiration for each other’s work. She later used some of his graffiti inspired designs in her collection including the Robot and Barking Diablo Dogs. By dramatically contrasting with the prevailing conservative social norms, the clothing gave the individuals who wore them a confidence and the opportunity to express themselves – Westwood’s fashion represented freedom.
– 4 – 1980’s A WELL-TAILORED REBEL When her partnership with Malcolm McLaren ended Westwood turned to tradition, craft and from the mid 1980’s she rooted her work in tailoring and the self-taught Westwood apprenticed herself to the skills necessary to cut, sew and fold cloth. Rather than something to rail against Westwood found a creative wellspring in tradition, with her clothes increasingly taking reference from the pattern books of British history and culture using traditional fabrics such as Lochcarron tartan and Harris Tweed. The Westwood logo – “The Orb and Ring” used since 1985 is quintessentially British; part of the royal regalia held by the Queen at the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament. Together with the ‘Saturn’ ring this logo represents the taking of tradition into the future. Yet although the clothing evokes tradition, they never lose the playful edginess characteristic of her designs, the clothing remains distinct with slightly twisted hems and button lines, or odd junctures of texture, material and pattern. In April 1989 Westwood appeared on the front cover of Tatler Magazine dressed as then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, even wearing the suit that had been ordered for Thatcher but had not yet been delivered. The April Fool’s edition ”This woman was once a Punk”, was included in The Guardian newspapers list of the best ever UK magazine covers.
1990’s A STORM IN A TEACUP With a point of departure in the English tradition, Westwood keeps exploring and re- interpreting history and in particular the art history and its references. In the fall/winter collection of 1990, the typical Westwood corset was introduced. It has since become a signature piece. The models on the catwalk looked like they had just stepped out of a painting. The collection by The Wallace Collection, Westwood’s´ favourite museum, was the main source of inspiration. The clothing was made of faux fur, lace, velvets, tweeds, city stripe cottons and barathea wool. The collection Cut & Slash of 1991 was the first men’s collection and shown at the Pitti palace in Florence. The clothing was androgynous and used reference points from 18th Century Court Dress and 19th Century dandies. During the fashion show of the collection Anglomania fall/winter 1993 Westwood introduced a new registrated tartan, MacAndreas, named after her husband Andreas Kronthaler. The fashion show is famous for the incident where Naomi Campbell fell while wearing super elevated shoes.
– 5 – 2000’s FASHION AS ACTIVISM At the beginning of the 21st century, Westwood moved further away from historicism, and returned to a more asexual cut, in comparison to the previous tailored cuts such as corsets with accentuated waistlines and bustiers. Westwood has come a long way from maverick designer to gradually becoming part of the establishment and in 1992 she received an Order of the British Empire and in 2006 the title of Dame Commander for her outstanding contribution to British fashion. She is the figurehead of her eponymous firm; her clothes and products are sold in more than 50 countries and over 700 points of sale worldwide across all five continents. Over the years both her and her clothing have become increasingly more politicised. She has used her exalted position to provide vocal support for the Occupy movement, the work of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and the informant Chelsea Manning. She has been involved in amnesty cases such as that of Leonard Peltier a Native American thought to be have been wrongly convicted in the USA. Westwood campaigns against climate change, protests to end fracking and advocates for the preserving the Arctic from mineral speculation. For instance, in her Spring/ Summer 2010 collection entitled Planet Gaia (referring to the idea of the planet as a self-regulating system), the models were adorned with environmental slogans such as “Act fast, slow down, stop climate change”. Westwood remains a figurehead and creative force in fashion whilst in parallel well into her 7th decade she remains a passionate and committed activist.
DESTROY White muslin shirt (the fabric is a re-used cheese cloth) with the striking text DESTROY superimposed on a nazi swastika. The motif depicts a large nazi swastika with an inverted picture of Christ on the crucifix, upside down, and the words from the Sex Pistols song Anarchy in the UK: ”I am an anti-christ, I am an anarchist, don’t know what I want but I know how to get it, I wanna destroy the passer by, I wanna be anarchy.” The design of the shirt is deliberately frayed. The arms are long with ring clips and velcro straps similar to that of a strait jacket. The shoulder design comprises of semi open velcro straps and the small “SEDS” (Seditionaries) label discreetly sewn into the top along with the shoulder tag with a text “for Soldiers Prostitutes Punks & Dykes”. The symbolic of the motives are often – and in several ways – provocative and offensive. McLaren explains: ”We messed around with imagery that basically was provocative, and more often than not, to do with sex, and if it wasn’t to do with sex it was to do with politics… it was just imagery that hopefully wouldn’t appear polite, because the last thing you wanted to do in my shop was to look polite!”
– 6 – THE SHOP AT 430 KINGS ROAD
1971 LET IT ROCK The shop LET IT ROCK was first established by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, taking its name from the Chuck Berry song. It sold 1950’s rock’n’roll records & memorabilia and re-worked Teddy Boy Suits with brothel creepers. The store was furnished to evoke a 50’s living room with porn magazines scattered on the floor.
1972 TOO FAST TO LIVE TOO YOUNG TO DIE The shop was renamed after the epithet worn on the motorcycle jackets of American bikers honouring the premature death of James Dean. The menacing Skull & Crossbones moved the aesthetic away from Teddy Boy clothing into customised biker clothing with inspiration coming from figures such as Gene Vincent and James Dean. The store had a jukebox and Odeon wallpaper with posters of pop singer Billy Fury. Westwood & McLaren began customising black t-shirts inspired by anti-capitalist and situationist politics. The famous chicken bone t-shirts (the bones apparently from the cafe across the street) were adorned with slogans such as “Perv” “Rock” “Scum” and “Fuck”.
1974 SEX The shop name changed to “SEX” written in pink, foam-covered lettering. Fetish latex, bondage and rubber wear clothing took over.
– 7 – 1976 SEDITIONARIES The shop changed its name again and the interiors of the new store were designed by David Connor and Ben Kelly. The store took on a darker more sinister look with the upside-down picture of Piccadilly Circus and pictures of bombed Dresden representing a political movement against the establishment. Logos such as “Chaos”, “Anarchy”, “Destroy”, “God save the Queen”, and Karl Marx patches adorned the clothing – these were clothes for the urban guerrillas. Some of these pieces were shown in Deluxe Magazine, illustrating that 430 Kings Road had become the birthplace of punk and its clothes representative of the movement. Westwood describing the clothing of “Seditionaries” as “something you may see at the Battle of Culloden” (year 1746) with tartan fabrics, terry towelling, muslin, rubber and jersey, bondage trousers with matching jackets, mohair jumpers and anarchy shirts. Seditionaries’ boots were based on ammunition boots, the laces covered by the tongue and straps, and the soles made from leather adapting the original boots which had a velvet sole designed as they were not to create any sparks when handling fragile munitions.
1979 WORLDS END The name THE WORLDS END is taken from the area of Chelsea where the store is located. Designed again by David Connor. The slanted floor reminiscent of the galleon of a ship, and the still ever present backward ticking 13 hour clock a reflection of the Pirates autumn/winter 1981 collection first sold at Worlds End.
– 8 – LEE PRICE (Born 1973) Curator and owner of the collection
I’ve had an almost life-long love affair with the clothes of Vivienne Westwood. I first heard about Westwood in the mid-80s. I had a moment of realization that this woman encapsulated everything I prized; the eras of rock, punk and new romantic, Saville Row tailoring alongside a unique aesthetic and the use of beautiful quintessentially British fabrics like tweeds and tartans. In addition, so many of the music bands that I listened to wore Westwood for example groups like The Sex Pistols and Bow Wow Wow. I remember my first visit to the Westwood Worlds End store when I was around 13 years old; I was awestruck as I took in the uneven, slopping floors, and the famous clock on the wall with the hands spinning backwards from 13 o’clock. On the back wall some iconic pieces were displayed including the original “Let it Rock” bones vest, the BSA skirt and the Gene Vincent blue top. That day I bought my first piece of Vivienne Westwood clothing, a plain white t-shirt with a colourful orb (the Westwood symbol) in the middle of the chest. From then onwards I was hooked. I saved my meager funds earned washing cars in the neighborhood, and journeyed down to London to buy as many pieces of Westwood clothing as I could afford. I would keep all the magazines or newspaper articles on Westwood that I could find. I remember vividly an interview in 1988, where Vivienne presented her latest collection and the presenter and the audience openly mocked and laughed at her and her clothes. I couldn’t understand why people were laughing because the clothes were so beautiful. At first, I bought the Westwood clothes to wear myself but when I had more disposable income, I decided to also buy things I found beautiful, important or iconic. My family was also involved with the antiques trade so perhaps I was more aware than many young people my age of the importance of keeping, preserving and treasuring our heritage. For me Westwood embodied British heritage and I saw her clothes as treasures of the future and I saw myself as somewhat of a custodian of these clothes. The beautiful thing about collecting Westwood is that it’s never finished, there’s always more to find, there’s an ongoing search for a new holy grail. My dream was to work for Vivienne Westwood, and when I left school, I initially managed a store that stocked Westwood. I eventually started working in the original World’s End store in the mid-1990s and later moved onto the couture shop in David Street. This is when I first met Vivienne. At that point the company was still small enough for Vivienne to be familiar with everyone who worked in the company. Working during Paris fashion week would also involve working at the Westwood fashion show, dressing the models, facilitating the smooth running of the event backstage and frontstage. In 1998, I was given the opportunity to open and manage a new flagship store in Leeds in the north of England. I would still see Vivienne frequently. She always sent me a personalized Christmas card and was interested in how the shop “up North” was doing. – Lee Price, September 2020 Lee Price left Westwood in 2013 to focus on selling vintage Westwood pieces and organizing and curating his collection. He is now managing a store with his mother where they restore and sell iconic Westwood pieces from a beautiful village in rural England.
– 9 – KI PRICE (Born 1973) Photographer
From as far back as my earliest childhood memories, I experienced an overwhelming sense of estrangement from the world around me. But this deeply felt disconnection, intensified by my contempt for the dull monotony of conventional society, changed the moment I picked up a camera and made my way to London. I’m from a cute but boring seaside town called Charmouth and ran away with the fair, before making my way to London. Acid House had just exploded and I loved it; I immediately became a part of it. The sense of unity and being part of something like that was amazing. It was what I felt I’d been searching for all my life. After a lengthy period engaged with current affairs, working with Reuters, The Times and AFP, I turned to fashion and celebrity portraits, honing my craft and merging my subcultural interests with attention to detail. Inspired by mid-twentieth century realism and innovative, iconic fashion photographers, I took my work to another level: I got into editorial after being inspired by people like Weegee. I’ve always been fascinated by fashion, subculture and counterculture. I was inspired by people like Richard Avedon and Guy Bourdin, the richness of colour and the playfulness of sex. It is no surprise, then, that the first time I met fashion designer and social activist, Vivienne Westwood, back in 2008 we immediately connected. I first met Vivienne at a climate press conference and we hit it off straight away. This led to me being invited to work on a political protest with the doyenne. In 2014 I was asked to be her photographer, to go on tour with her and oppose the implications of fracking. That was when I got to hang out with her and we got to know each other. Vivienne is cool. She’s very clever and really inspiring. Other projects with Westwood soon followed, one of our most memorable being the time that we turned up at then Prime Minister, David Cameron’s, country house – in a tank – in an effort to oppose the environmental implications of fracking. It was our most audacious stunt yet. – Ki Price, September 2020 Ki Price continues to shoot Westwood’s fashion shows, both backstage and runway. The rebel designer’s collections often embody a social and political message; something that Price feels reflects his own beliefs.
– 10 – DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY
Millesgården Museum
CURATOR
Lee Price
PARTICIPATING ARTIST
Ki Price
MANY THANKS TO
The Wallace Collection Endito AB MASI Agricola
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