By ALFREDO MENDOZA
Staff Writer
Pirates
She released her first true collection for Autumn/Winter in 1981 called “Pirates”. This was pushing the idea of romanticism in the early 80s. It featured a romantic and colorful bold side of who Vivienne was as a designer. It featured pirate attire and new bold patterns, and it was an overall departure from what the brand was doing originally. This was also the first-ever line made to shock the audience, it was supposed to be art, art was supposed to make you feel, and Vivienne Westwood shocked audiences across the fashion world. She was starting her very own revolution being the first to take period pieces from the past and deconstruct them to fit the modern. This is something that we see often in media today like the trending corset that was once a cinching tool and is now seen as fashion. If you wear something like this you have Vivienne to thank. The runway was also one of the first to feature models playing with the garments and dancing around, adding a fun spirit that many brands still try to capture today. This runway single-handedly changed fashion forever, featuring punk for the first time while maintaining a solid theme and staying true to the brand.
What After Malcolm
After so much success with the first runway, the brand’s duo was able to open up more boutiques and design a plethora of fashion lines. So much success can come at a price and even though Malcom was pushing for Vivienne’s name to be known he grew bitter. He slowly progressed to slandering her name to the press and eventually, the bitter wedge in their relationship forced them to break up. This was all happening during the iconic Winter/Autumn line in 1983 called “Witches” which turned out to be another groundbreaking runway. That was the last of their collaboration together and he moved on while she was able to keep the brand and even changed the name to what it’s known now. The new brand “Vivienne Westwood” had more opportunity and promise as she tweaked her brand’s style and collaborated on several more fashion lines. A Keith Haring collab skirt was later photographed on an up-and-coming starlet named Madonna who then appeared in a music video. This was a gateway to much more opportunities, specifically to boom her clothing lines and make Vivienne the fashion empire she always aspired to and deserved. Product sales were booming and she was finally a household name.
Newly Found Opportunities
She spontaneously moved to Italy and turned into quite the socialite designing a spring Soho collection in Tokyo for the global fashion awards. Her empire was being built bigger every day before everyone’s very own eyes. Her empire was known for the iconic squiggle prints, provocative, graphic tees, and historical garments. Now you’re probably wondering where the most iconic symbol of the brand is. The Harris Tweed Saturn symbol you are starting to see come back into fashion garnishing a string of pearls. Well, its first-ever appearance was on a Scottish-inspired runway collaboration with the brand Harris Tweed in the Autumn/Winter collection (1987). The collection reached extreme success so much so that she kept the iconic symbol and even incorporated it into her brand logo. The Scottish elements even brought in the plaid fashion we see as a staple in the punk brand. The runway collection was so successful it ended up saving the Harris Tweed brand from dying out and boosted sales for both companies.