Vivienne Westwood: Thirty Years In Fashion Retrospective
By Michelle Taylor
Photos by Javier Mateo

PARIS, Mar 5, 2004/ FW/ – A year of parties for the diva of punk Vivienne Westwood as her exhibition is due to open in April at London’s Victoria Albert Museum to celebrate her 30 years in fashion.

So what a better way to theme a collection, but as a retrospective, breathing new life into cult clothing that has taken her to the top of international ranks.

In a season full of floral, fur and those endless girly ruffles, Westwood takes a trip back in time bringing back classic punk tartan, loads of harnesses and braces contouring the entire body almost in a bondage sensual sexiness and she topped it all off with little devils horns on the heads of her not so innocent wenches.

Pencil skirts and waist accentuating jackets and belts and bodices allude to romantic Edwardian times like the little waistcoats over white puff sleeve shirts that pull breasts tight, and she doesn’t forget about modern femininity in minimal floral and side splits on skirts with often unfinished hemlines.

Knitwear is simply gorgeous as she layers and makes clean precise geometrical cuts in a fashion that only she knows how and revisits the idea of tube columns coming off each breast in a non prude rebel style.

Long laces come off shoes and wind around the calf, boots are over the knee and the platform is bought back in full force. Westwood learned the perfect mix between street roughness and underground cool long ago and continues not to miss a beat in ultra modern and female confidence.

This may be a collection pulled out of the closet and dusted off, but like all good fashion, any occasion is an excuse to pull out favourites and wear them over and over making each time seem singular and simply dandy, and darling, Westwood is just fine all the way from London to Paris and back again.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood