Rare Vivienne Westwood Signature Plaid Handbag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Wool-plaid, leatherette, leather and gold hardware.
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU1207272471213
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: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Carlos Falchi Textured Embossed Gun-Metal Plum & Charcoal HandbagBy Carlos FalchiLocated in New York, NYCarlos Falchi Textured gun-metal embossed calfskin are in hues of charcoal and plum with metallic gold threading hand-sewn throughout the bag. Accented with a heavy gold hardware cha...Category
20th Century Spanish Top Handle Bags
- Roberta di Camerino Black Calfskin with Brushed Pony Accent HandbagBy Roberta Di CamerinoLocated in New York, NYRoberta di Camerino wonderfully detailed black calfskin double-handle handbag with accented with brushed pony skin. The center-front is embossed with their signature logo. Th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Top Handle Bags
- Yves Saint Laurent Signature Black Velvet Monogram Adjustable Double Handle ToteBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent wonderful signature velvet monogram front adjustable double handle tote bag is detailed with adjustable handles measuring from 10 1/2 to 13 1/2 inches. The ...Category
1990s Italian Tote Bags
- MCM Black Signature Monogram with Embossed Forest Green Ostrich Shoulder BagBy MCM MunchenLocated in New York, NYMCM wonderfully detailed black signature monogram shoulder bag accented with embossed forest green ostrich on the corners, top flap, side panels, tabs, and as well on the gild...Category
2010s Italian Shoulder Bags
- LaGucci Black Textured Calfskin with Leopard Print Pony & Studded Handle ToteLocated in New York, NYLaGucci wonderfully elegant black textured calfskin accented with "Leopard" print pony zippered three-sectional handbag with optional shoulder strap measuring 38 inches when n...Category
Early 2000s Italian Tote Bags
- Saks Fifth Avenue Black Lambskin Woven Leather HandbagBy Saks Fifth AvenueLocated in New York, NYSaks Fifth Avenue black lambskin woven leather handbag has gold hardware and accented with an exterior compartment on the backside. The han...Category
1980s Italian Top Handle Bags
- Louis Vuitton Brown Monogram Coated Canvas & Vachetta Leather Mini NoeBy Louis VuittonLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireLouis Vuitton Brown Monogram Coated Canvas & Vachetta Leather Mini Noe Brand- Louis Vuitton Model- Mini Noe Product Type- Top Handle Serial Number- AR**** Age- Circa 2004 Colour- Br...Category
Early 2000s French Top Handle Bags
- Louis Vuitton Capucines GM Top Handle Bag Black LeatherBy Louis VuittonLocated in Torre Del Greco, ITLouis Vuitton signed bag, Capucines model, size GM, made of black grained leather with beige inserts and silver hardware. Equipped with a central flap, internally lined in smooth bla...Category
2010s Top Handle Bags
- Chanel New Tweed Space Flight Handle Logo Rare Limited Edition BackpackBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLNew Chanel Tweed Space Flight Handle Logo Rare Limited Edition Backpack Fall Spring 2016 Blue navy tweed Top Handle Front pocket Decorative patches Firm ...Category
2010s Italian Backpacks
- Sirni purple crocodile handbag - shoulder bagLocated in Capri, ITSirni purple crocodile handbag totally made in italy lining in leather measurements: 28*15 cm, 7 cm depthCategory
1990s Italian Top Handle Bags
- Prada black croco leather handbag shoulder bagBy PradaLocated in Capri, ITPrada black croco leather handbag totally made in italy measurements: 23*13 cm, 9 cm depthCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Top Handle Bags
- Chanel Black CC Logo Discs Shoulder BagBy ChanelLocated in West Hollywood, CAChanel black Lambskin shoulder tote with gold discs from logo design. Shoulder drop 7”. Collection 12. Comes with hologram and original dust cover.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Top Handle Bags