Vivienne Westwood Corset Iconic Rare 90s Red Label
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. One very small flaw, almost invisible, please see last picture.
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2727219450272
Vivienne Westwood
For someone who regularly swatted away the industry that made her, audacious British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood certainly knew her way around a garment. And she knew how to provoke. “I don’t follow fashion,” Westwood once told the New York Times. “I’ve never been interested in it.” Collectors are certainly interested in her work, and vintage Vivienne Westwood dresses, handbags, lingerie and jackets have become very desirable over the years.
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 necklaces and other 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.
For the colorful corsets of her 1990 Portrait collection, Westwood drew on 18th-century oil paintings — her models donned the pearl necklaces that have become a social media star and a favorite of influencers and fashion lovers all over the world. For a jacket-and-shorts suit from her Fall/Winter 1996–97 Storm in a Teacup line, the designer used the extreme asymmetry of a tartan mash-up to confront, according to Westwood, “the horror of uniformity and minimalism.”
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 garnered accolades for introducing corsets to the runway and dressed Kate Moss and Helena Bonham Carter. And an original Vivienne Westwood wedding dress is featured in 2008’s Sex and the City film.
The fires of political and environmental activism burned brightly for Westwood: She was 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 shirts, shoes, gowns and other items today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Berlin, Germany
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Beautiful Vintage Silk Kimono Dress Gown 1950s Couture Asian Robe Coat 40s 50sLocated in Berlin, BEHollywood Glamour Vibes. Not sure if I'm really ready to part with her but oh well... This true beauty is what boudoir dreams are made of. The most amazing pure Silk Kimono Dress...Category
1950s Loungewear
- Sensational Iconic Corset Mister Pearl for Thierry Mugler Semi Sheer BodiceBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Berlin, BEHoly Grail. Iconic Muesum Worthy Collectors Piece Extremely rare spectacular Corset created by the One And Only Mister Pearl for Thierry Mugler. Kylie ...Category
Early 2000s French Corsets
- Iconic Vivienne Westwood Documented 1992 Black Sheer Mesh Bodysuit TopBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in Berlin, BEThe stunning 1992 Vivienne Westwood Boulle bodysuit. Iconic Vivienne Westwood Collectors Piece. Sexy semi sheer black bodysuit featuring the ...Category
1990s Bodysuits
- Vivienne Westwood Corset SS 1992 Runway Worn Rare Collectors black lace ICONICBy Vivienne WestwoodLocated in Berlin, BEHOLY GRAIL Extremely rare original Vivienne Westwood corset. Spring Summer Collection 1992. Worn on the runway as well as seen on Susie Cave....Category
1990s British Corsets
- Stunning Original 1970s Jean-Louis Scherrer Dress Silk Poet Sleeve Bow Maxi 70sBy Jean-Louis ScherrerLocated in Berlin, BEStunning extremely rare creation by Fashion Icon Jean-Louis Scherrer. The softest liquid pure silk. Long maxi dress designed in the free spirit of the 1970s: Beautiful long cascading floaty shape with big puffy poet sleeves that tie in bows and a high neck. Fabric covered buttons on the bodice, an amazing bow on neck with long ties. This iconic style reminds of creations by Biba and Ossie Clark, Scherrer's fellow designers in the 70s. No fitted waist (sash belt on the picture is not part of the dress and not included), subtle ruffles on the hem. Also - it has pockets! A true beauty, one of a kind part of Fashion History. 100% Silk Made in France Off white ivory cream colour with subtle floral pattern super wide and floaty shape with darts on the bodice, please contact me for assistance with sizing and fit length ca.142cm sash belt on the picture not included Jean – Louis Scherrer, French fashion designer par excellence. His luxurious fabrics, hand beaded garments...Category
1970s French Wedding Dresses
- Iconic Alexander McQueen Plato’s Atlantis Jellyfish Print Sheath Dress BodyconBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Berlin, BEA rare famous piece from the iconic Alexander McQueen 2010 Collection, his final runway presentation was widely acclaimed as his finest collec...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses
- Flower print and lace night-gown and negligée Christian Dior Lingerie for SaksBy Christian DiorLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRFlower print and lace night-gown and wrapped negligée with shoulder pad. Fabric composition : 100% polyester. Size S on tag but fit more likely LCategory
1980s American Negligees
- Charming Ivory Slip Dress, 18th Century Courtesan EmbroideriesLocated in New York, NYCharming and unusual Ivory Slip Dress with Courtesan Embroideries from the 1940's. Elaborate 18th Century dancing courtesans in satin are hand embroid...Category
1940s Slips
- Art Deco Floral Batiste GownLocated in New York, NYCharming Art Deco Floral Batiste Gown from the 1930's. Soft cotton floral batiste is bias cut with scalloped blue edges, pin tucks and panels of hand m...Category
1930s American Lingerie
- 1940s Vintage Housecoat Quilted Hostess Robe in White Red & Yellow Floral Size 6Located in Portland, ORThis quilted vintage floral, pale pink 1940s house coat is stunning in person. This gorgeous robe is lined in red, trimmed in red, and has a beautiful red sash. Approximately a size...Category
1940s American Robes
- Lolita Lempicka Floral Embroidered Bustier 2000By Lolita LempickaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Lolita Lempicka black bustier corset top with floral embroidery, beading and black satin ribbon laces in the back, and silk lining....Category
Early 2000s French Corsets
- 1980s Yves Saint Laurent Ivory + Gold Vintage 80s One Piece SwimsuitBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful and classic early 1980s YVES SAINT LAURENT ivory / off-white and gold seashell print one piece halter swimsuit / bodysuit! Features a flattering ruched waist that hides any...Category
1980s French Swimwear