Worlds End Cotton Waffle Knit Tunic
View Similar Items
Worlds End Cotton Waffle Knit Tunic
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Mediun (US)Bust: 40 in (101.6 cm)Waist: 34 in (86.36 cm)Hip: 38 in (96.52 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU451449873
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 Gold Baroque & Leopard Print Silk Blouse With Equestrian RiderBy Gianni Versace Couture, VersaceLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection is excited to offer a vintage Gianni Versace Couture silk oversized scarf blouse featuring a flap collar, decorative black and gold Medusa buttons, a front placket with ...Category
20th Century Italian Blouses
- Jitrois Black Leather And Sheer Tuxedo ShirtBy Jean-Claude JitroisLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Jitrois black leather and sheer fabric tuxedo shirt featuring a folding collar, button-down front pl...Category
Early 2000s French Blouses
- Yuki Satin Beaded Blouse 1987By YukiLocated in Los Angeles, CABlack satin button down kimono inspired blouse with large round-cornered collar, waistband, and subtle pleated detail. Circa 1987. Please inquire for additional images.Category
1980s British Blouses
- Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Black & Red Silk Ruffle BlousewBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Yves Saint Laurent black silk blouse with red trim, button front, and ruffle collar. Excellent Condition. Size: 42Category
1970s French Blouses
- Vintage Versace Black & Brass Beaded Top 1990By Gianni VersaceLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Gianni Versace heavily embellished brass colored beaded top that falls off the shoulder into a cap sleeve and side zip closure. Collection 1990. Excellent Vintage Condition....Category
1990s Italian Shirts
- Comme Des Garcons Black Gathered Ribbon TopBy Comme des GarçonsLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Comme des Garcons black short sleeve top featuring two rows of shirring creating a double blouson effect and pleated satin ribbon at neckline. Circa 2006.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Blouses
$495 Sale Price28% Off
- Emanuel Ungaro 1980's Vintage Metallic Pastels Lace Blouse - 8By Emanuel UngaroLocated in West Palm Beach, FLEmanuel Ungaro 1980's Vintage Metallic Pastels Lace Blouse - 8. This top is in excellent vintage condition and has gold, pinks, ivory, and pastel ...Category
1980s Italian Blouses
- Vintage Off-White Silk Coat with Silver Beading Size 4-6Located in Los Angeles, CAThis coat is composed of an off-white silk with silver beading. Features center front hook and eye closures. In excellent vintage condition, may be missing a few beads, but overall ...Category
20th Century American Blouses
- STELLA MCCARTNEY tan viscose BEADED Tank Top Shirt 38 XSBy Stella McCartneyLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Stella McCartney beads tank top in tan viscose (100%) with aluminium (100%) trimming. Slip in fit. Unlined. Has been worn and is in excellent condition. Measurements ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Blouses
- JIL SANDER off-white & beige cotton Stretch CREPE Blouse Shirt S to MBy Jil SanderLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Jil Sander long sleeve high collar blouse in off-white and beige stretchy cotton crepe and elastane (missing content tag). Unlined....Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Blouses
- Vintage Madame Hanai Silk BlouseLocated in London, GBA chic vintage silk blouse by Madame Hanai , the Japanease designer. The blouse is in a super soft silk and has a button front opening with a v neckline and neck ties. It has a sing...Category
1980s Japanese Blouses
- Hermes Fraternite' 1789 Cotton T Shirt TopBy HermèsLocated in West Hollywood, CAHermes Authentic Vintage Fraternite' 1789 cotton T-shirt. Condition is Pre-owned. Missing tag. Very good condition. Measurements: Neck to hem 28" Bust 42" Neck 19"Category
1990s French Blouses