Without panties from the queen, the queen of the Revolution Viv.

The supremacy of the male in the Fashion System

I will never quite go down with that the Patriarchate in one way or another always has the upper hand, especially from the 800s onwards. And I will never be able to digest the fact that in the Fashion System disruptive and avant-garde personalities female are always overshadowed by an aura of fog that does not make their names shine as they rightly deserve.

Examples of this are my beloved XNUMX Elsa Schiaparelli (which I wrote to you about , promising, which introduced a colore which bears his name and the collaboration between fashion and art with From there), Luisa Spagnoli (yes, Perugina kisses are one of her inventions, and she was the first to set up a kindergarten for employees within her company), Vionnet, Madame Gres…the list of cases in which the supremacy of the straight Male triumphs or cannot be considerably lengthened.

December 29, 2022 Hello Viv!

The Perny (my husband) when I told him: -“You know, she's dead Vivienne Westwood..."- he told me: -"…you know I don't have it quite present"– , which aroused this feeling in me again.

I think often women which were really the revolution, even if in an environment par excellence feminine such as that of Fashion, perhaps only because such are not incensed of the same glories that are instead reserved for their colleagues of the opposite sex.

This post obviously won't change anyone's fate, but it is a simple means for me to feel connected to Viv's irreverent and passionate spirit, even the photos you will find are all photos taken by me of my books, to feel everything even more mine.

It's okay that patriarchy is entrenched and dismantling it is a slow process but then fate also gets in the way that wants theAlice in Wonderland of fashion, Westwood comes goes out on the same day as one of the greatest footballers in history (Pelè) and shortly before the Pope Emeritus, obviously the last two deaths, male moreover, are much more mainstream than that of our Viv. Not that there is a ranking of deceased human beings, but it is undeniable that the number of news stories about Pele and Pope Benedict has been far greater than that of the UK designer.

Stylist among the most influential of the last 4th of the twentieth century.

Vivienne Westwood: fashion designer, who can be counted among the most influential of the last 4th of the twentieth century.

Vivienne Isabel Swire was born in 1941 in the province of Yorkshire, she moved to London with her family when she was 17 and the first thing she did when she arrived in the capital was to visit the museums, her studies and partly even the teaching profession would pervade her entire work.

The surname Westwood receives it from the first marriage. Vivienne studies there history of fashion from the beginning: he knows in depth a code to destroy and attack it.

“Destroys” as a slogan of life

From the meeting with the multifaceted Malcolm McLauren (Viv's second husband) was born on Punk and if McLauren with i The Sex Pistols (his discovery or rather invention) determines the musical genre, Vivienne codifies the style: raw cut edges, piercings, studs, vintage elements and amphibians all scientifically proposed by the couple in their boutique at 430 King's Road, open in 1971 under the name of “Let Rock” which will then become “Sex".

The "Destroy” on asymmetrical T-shirts is a roar that wants

“destroy the values and taboos of a cruel and unjust world”.

In her crusade against the obvious and the convention that will later lead the designer to be a fervent environmentalist, there has always been a strong focus on “recycle” that we have always found in the search for pieces vintage and then in his statement:

“Buy Less, choose well, make it last."

The past as a source of inspiration

“In the last century, the imperative was to get rid of the past. It's like telling a scientist to get rid of the lab of him. If you do, you throw away all the technique. And instead we have to go back to the past.”

Her love of history and study means that in a time when everyone wants to get rid of the past she uses ancient clothes adapting them, or exaggerating them in contemporary fashion.

Among the recurring themes and obsessions in his work is theAllegorical art by Blake and Hogarth. Of her, her propensity towards art is very strong, which will then also lead her to the collaboration with Keith Haring in 1983.

As later Gaulthier, McQueen, Margiela will be recurring elements: tight bustiers, decisive lines, huge ruffs, corsets, crinolines and vertiginous heels.

"Monarch style” in a 2.0 key, the one born on the same soil in which Viv operates inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth I who, thanks to a legendary wardrobe, had already fully understood how much fashion was able to highlight not so much his constitution but his social condition.

Il Corset which was born as a female undergarment born to support and constrict is used as an independent garment, a symbol of a strong sexual liberation: one of Vivienne Westwood's leitmotifs.

As well as the "Upside down” with bras worn over the t-shirts that triumph in the collection Cafe society (Spring/Summer 1994) but which we already find in the collection Savage (Spring/Summer 1982) where we find tribal-inspired looks.

Debut and New Romanticism

Vivienne has always wanted to go against the tide and once codified the movement Punk, in 1981 he made his debut on the catwalk with the collection Pirates (Autumn/Winter 1981-1982) which will determine the codes of the movement "New Romantic” (Boy George of Culture Club to understand each other…).

"The never seen before is the definition I always keep in mind"

God Save the Queen

Anglomania is not only the name of the Fall/Winter 1993-94 fashion show in which the tartan (I also tell you about it in this post) and theHarris Tweed as banners of the brand but also a real trend that embraces the whole West.

Vivienne said

"The my greatest happiness is when I manage to parody the English in the context of a classical perspective”.

A thought that literally materialized when he displaced the entire public opinion by showing up at the queen's court in 1992 without underwear. Everyone was amazed at her when they saw her arrive without wearing anything extravagant, but they were literally speechless, when the flared skirt opened and turning around Vivienne showed the world that there was nothing under her dress!

An eternal love

In 1988 he meets Andreas Kontrhaler her student at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna who, like her, is inspired by history in all of her production. The two will get married giving life to an explosive and pervasive creative union, praising a truly current theme: environmentalism.

Vegetarian, champion of the affirmation of civil rights, her "Letter to the Earth” containing a heartfelt appeal to the powerful states regarding the sustainability of our only home: the planet.

In addition to the love that unites the two despite the age difference, what has always struck me is the fact that both have never considered a collection as such without the release Bridal, as if love should always set on everything: even on death.