Fashion L'amour

A Small Tribute To An Icon

“Fashion is very important. It is life enhancing and, like anything that gives pleasure, is worth doing well”

Vivienne Westwood

As we close on 2022 and welcome the dawn of ‘23, we mourn the passing of Dame Vivienne Westwood. The industry stood still just two days before the new year, as we were extremely saddened to learn that Dame Westwood had passed away peacefully at home at the age of 82. We have all had to come to the realization that we have lost one of the most influential designers ever to have come out of London. 

We here at Fashion Lamour would like to pay our humble tribute to her now, her work has been incredibly subversive and inspiring to us and so many others over the last 5 decades. Vivienne Westwood was more than just a designer. Coming from the small English town of Tintwistle, to many she represented a beacon of hope and example for those who felt a sense of inaccessibility in the fashion industry, be that due to a feeling of otherness or a financial barrier. 

She was always punk, always shocking, dedicated to sustainability from early on, always giving the middle finger to what her peers thought the fashion world wanted to see at the time, and she always delivered flawlessly regardless of her critics. Everything about Vivienne and her brand screamed “if I can come from a small town and a working class family, and still make it in this damn industry, then you can too! F— what other people think!”. 

For this spirit we will always fondly love and remember her and so will the rest of the world. Let’s take a look at some of Vivienne’s most quintessential moments ranging from recently, back to the early 70’s.

1. Anglomania

How could we start this list off with anything else? This classic Westwood 1993 collection used the punk staple of tartan print and literally put it on Naiomi Campbell and Kate Moss. This was not the first time she brought subculture into fashion but it was certainly a powerful moment.

2. Full Frontal Flash.

In front of Buckingham Palace. The late queen was rumored to have thought it was funny. In 1992 this was even crazier than it seems today. The muted seeming, long, grey dress took on a whole different context when she twirled in front of paparazzi, intentionally exposing a gold petticoat and her choice to go deliberately commando under sheer tights.

3. The Sex Collections.

Famously, these were her first breakthrough creations. Before the Westwood label came the SEX boutique that she started with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in 1974, right at the beginning of her career. Among the pieces from her era spent with McLaren were the “be reasonable, demand the impossible” shirt, the integration of punk tartan and the dawn of the famous Westwood corset.

4. Corsets And The Portrait Collection

The Sex boutique began the iconic Corsets that were a staple throughout Vivienne’s collections over five decades. They appeared in so many forms and always stayed current. From its bright pink, 70s punk origins to the Portrait Collection to dressing niche, modern pop stars like FKA Twigs in 2019, the corsets are an unforgettable piece of fashion history.

5. Pirate

Her first real runway collection in 1981. This collection showcased how Vivienne was a rebel as well as a romantic. How better to portray this sentiment than through the idea of pirates. From the tall boots to loud hats and colourful shirts, this was yet another example of how her concepts were always unexpected in the context of fashion, and yet fit so well into fashion’s often elitist and unforgiving world.

As we sit in the wake of this loss, I hope that we can learn from Dame Vivienne Westwood’s spirit of rebellion, compassion and courage going forward into an extraordinarily uncertain world. She has left us all a unique and indisputable legacy, we hope that one day we could leave something so touching and inspiring behind too.