In spring 2004 the Victoria and Albert Museum will launch a major exhibition of the work of Vivienne Westwood, one of the most influential fashion designers of the last 30 years.The exhibition is the largest the V&A has ever dedicated to a British designer and will feature more than 150 designs mainly selected from the V&A’s collection and Vivienne Westwood’s personal archive.
The show will examine Westwood’s career from the 1970s to the present day.Westwood has been a major influence on fashion design from haute couture to ready-to-wear. Her career has spanned the punk era including outfits worn by the Sex Pistols in the 70s to grand ball-gowns influenced by historical art and dress. Vivienne Westwood, said: “It is extremely exciting that the V&A is mounting this exhibition exploring my work over more than 30 years. I am delighted to be able to share with people my archive and ideas. It is very important that the V&A continues to put on fashion exhibitions – fashion is an applied art and it is extremely vital and alive today.
The curator of the Westwood exhibition, Claire Wilcox, said: “Highly influential and always ahead of her time, Vivienne Westwood encapsulates a particular kind of Britishness, combining fearless non-conformity with a sense of tradition. She has made a major contribution to international fashion over the last 30 years and we are delighted to be holding this retrospective.
”The exhibition will celebrate the long-standing relationship between the V&A and Vivienne Westwood. The museum’s first acquisition was an outfit from the 1981 “Pirate” collection. Since then, the V&A has followed her career closely and now has one of the largest public collections of Vivienne Westwood’s designs.
The exhibition will explore how Westwood has incorporated historical references from fashion and culture in a unique and inspiring way. She has been influenced by the V&A’s historical collections and is renowned for her interpretation of the corset, crinoline and bustle. Historical garments will be included alongside examples of Westwood’s creations. An 18th century “sacque-back” dress will be displayed, for example, next to a green silk ‘Watteau’ evening dress by Westwood, worn by Linda Evangelista in 1996.
The exhibition will look at Westwood’s often subversive adaptation of British traditions and gentle parodies of royalty. The exhibition will include sections devoted to tailoring, tartan and accessories. The famous blue mock-croc platform shoes Naomi Campbell wore when she fell on the catwalk in 1993 will be on display. Film and catwalk footage about the life and career of Westwood will be shown throughout.
Westwood was awarded British Designer of the Year in 1990 and in 1992 she received an OBE for her outstanding contribution to fashion. In 1998 she was given the Queen’s award for Export and in 2003 she was named Export Designer of the Year.
A book, Vivienne Westwood, is published by V&A Publications to coincide with the exhibition. Written by exhibition curator Claire Wilcox, with a Foreword by Vivienne Westwood, this is the first full-length study of her work as a fashion designer and contains over 200 illustrations
