Vivienne Westwood red checked wool waistcoat with caplet, fw 1988
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: S - M (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Some stains on lining.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14027559831
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Dolce & Gabbana red silk floral jacquard quilted opera coat, c. 1990sBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB- Double breasted - 3/4 length sleeves - Oversized fit - 2 side pockets c. 1990sCategory
1990s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Dolce & Gabbana red stretch-satin coat and skirt set, ss 1999By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana coat and skirt set ▪ Red stretch-satin ▪ Mid-length coat with a two-button closure at the bust ▪ Notched lapels ▪ Matching knee...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vivienne Westwood brown shearling coat dress, fw 1992By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood brown shearling coat dress. High neck, signature Westwood Orb buttons, fitted waist and flared skirt. Fall-Winter 1992Category
1990s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Martin Margiela brown wool coat with matching oversized belt, fw 1996By Maison Martin MargielaLocated in London, GB▪ Rare Martin Margiela brown wool coat ▪ Matching oversized belt with large metal buckle and adjustable elastic tape ▪ Single-breasted ▪ 2 front flap...Category
1990s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Azzedine Alaia black varnished pony hair trench coat, fw 2014By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBPresenting an exceptional Azzedine Alaia trench coat, a true collector's gem from the autumn-winter 2014 collection. This trench coat showcases the l...Category
2010s French Coats and Outerwear
- Vivienne Westwood brown wool and velvet swing coat, fw 1990By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood brown wool swing coat with velvet. Oversized inverted lapels, large perspex Orb button and voluminous back panel. Portrait, Fall-Winter 1990Category
1990s British Coats and Outerwear
- 1960s Teal Traina Lipstick Red Mod Vintage Early 60s Wool Swing JacketBy Teal Traina, Geoffrey BeeneLocated in San Diego, CAChic 1960s TEAL TRAINA by GEOFFREY BEENE lipstick red swing jacket ! Features the perfect lipstick red color with black and gold deco buttons up the front...Category
1960s American Single-Breasted Jackets
- S/2016 look # 2 NEW VERSACE RED SEMI LINE 100% SILK BLAZER 50 - 40By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Spring/Summer 2016 look # 2 Red silk blazer from Versace A graphic print and a two gold-tone Medusa front button fastening. Three front...Category
2010s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Verheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 12By Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 12 The Edward Leather Coat created by Verheyen London is a romantic design inspired by the 1970s and Edward...Category
2010s British Coats
- GUCCI red leather BIKER MOTORCYCLE Jacket 42 MBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in Zürich, CHGucci biker jacket in dark red lamb leather with four front zipper pockets, side decorative belts and zipped cuffs. Closes on the front with a zippe...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Trench Coats
- 1980s Fuchsia Swing CoatLocated in Alford, MADouble-faced fuchsia wool swing coat with deep shawl collar, single breasted with low patch pocket and turn-back cuffs. Welted seams. Unlabeled. Size M.Category
Late 20th Century Unknown Coats and Outerwear
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.