Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood Profile

The brand was found by Vivienne Westwood, who put burst into the London fashion scene in late 1970s with a collaborative fashion show with Malcom McLaren. The brand has since become immensely popular worldwide. Vivienne Westwood's first ready-to-wear line for women was launched in 1981. The newer lines include Vivienne Westwood menswear, Gold Label, Red Label and Anglomania.

Vivienne Westwood's Design
Known for her punk influence, Vivienne Westwood's design is part hard rock and part feminine. Some of the signature design for this brand are bondage gear, pirate aesthetics, and mini-crini skirts. The mass-market line Anglomania is filled with intricate pieces that can be worn individually with items most women already own. The Red Label, a line targeting a younger audience, consists of well-constructed pieces with vibrant colors and unique patterns. It offers a good contrast to the Gold Label, which pleases the visionaries in the fashion world with hyperbolic details and a wide array of fabrics.

The Bottom Line

Blending a quirky sense of humor and punk-rock aesthetics, Vivienne Westwood induces fun, femininity, and creativity into the everyday wardrobe.

Vivienne Westwood Blog Posts

Vivienne Westwood Designs Royal Inspired Queen’s Jubilee Gowns

Submitted by Emma Waight on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 10:37

747 Vivienne Westwood Jubilee

Vivienne Westwood is a true eccentric Brit. She has long used patriotic elements in her fashion designs, so who better to design a Queen’s Jubilee inspired dress collection than Vivienne Westwood. The Queen’s upcoming Diamond Jubilee is influencing design all across the board, and coupled with the London Olympics, summer 2012 is the time to Rule Britannia.

Westwood’s capsule collection will launch in May. Westwood says that it is inspired by gowns previously worn by the Queen, but I think that must be a loose use of ‘inspired’. That said, the gowns are beautifully cut for all out glamour with an unmistakeable hint of Westwood sex appeal. Ten frocks make up the collection of both mini and maxi dresses, using taffeta, silk satin, crepe de chine and georgette. The colour palette is fairly subdued using greys, coral, power pink and aqua.

Highlights from the collection include delicate Grecian-inspired cocktail dresses and tutu style longline pink and grey gowns. Westwood’s trademark ruching creates flattering, feminine silhouettes. There are also four pairs of chandelier style earrings for the finishing touch. I love every single piece from this collection.

Red Carpet Fashion at the Baftas 2012: Who Wore What?

Submitted by Emma Waight on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 22:56

591 Michelle Williams Baftas

Yesterday I gave my predictions on red carpet Bafta fashion, so did the celebs opt for classic looks or surprise show stoppers? Undoubtedly the biggest movie event on the British calendar, the Baftas are often seen as giving a hint to where we shall see Oscar success. Hosted by Stephen Fry at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Baftas wore shown last night on BBC1 and photos galore were available to peek at today.

Michelle Williams surprised many by wearing an H&M dress. Not just a normal high street H&M frock mind, this was a bespoke creation for H&M’s Conscious Collection (their ethical range). A classic column dress with cream satin strapless top and black skirt, Williams teamed it with a book-bag clutch of ‘The Misfits by Henry Miller’ – a quirky touch to finish this elegant look.

As predicted Tilda Swinton opted for a classic statuesque column dress by Celine in pristine white, whilst Penelope Cruz gave in to her fiery side in a wine red Armani Prive gown made from silk cady. Mad Men star Christina Hendricks showed off her curvy figure in Vivienne Westwood, wearing a long black, corseted one-shoulder gown. Meryl Streep went for a similar Westwood style but teamed it with a black wide shouldered bolero.

‘The Help’ star Viola Davis took part in Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge, wearing a Valentino dress made from recycled soda bottles. It had a beautiful iridescent shimmer to make Davies sparkle. The actress is intended to be the first of many actresses to team up with ethical designers on the red carpet this award season, as Livia Firth shows how ethical fashion can still be stunningly glamorous.

Fashion Conscious Stationery for Stylish Thank You Letters and 2012 Diaries

Submitted by Emma Waight on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 20:44

467 Smythson Stylish people love stylish stationery, and there is no better time to invest in some super stylish stationery than now. Not only are sales everywhere, meaning that you can get some gorgeous stationery at a bargain price, but the New Year is a time to get organised. And what better way to get organised than with lovely stationery that’s up to the job. Whether you have thank you letters to write, need a 2012 diary, or simply think that some new stationery will brighten up the work load throughout dreary January, there are plenty of inspiring sets.

The Fashionable

Want to organise your contacts for the New Year? How about a Vivienne Westwood tartan address book (£21.95). Fashion house Lanvin do a nice range of stationery like this pen, playfully illustrated with designer Albert Elbaz’s face (£55). For something truly fabulous, check out this Maison Martin Margiela Ostrich feather pen (£40). Orla Kiely also uses her signature leaf print to embellish notebooks and diaries.

The Quirky

National Treasures Launched at Liberty by Stella McCartney, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood

Submitted by Emma Waight on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 22:47

328 Vivienne Westwood CrownLovely Liberty, they are full of great ideas and beautiful things. The London department store, which has been standing since 1875, combines a rich heritage and contemporary designer names. Now, Liberty has enlisted top British designers to create one-of-a-kind products which will be sold at auction for charity, under the name National Treasures.

Something of a celeb himself, Liberty’s director Ed Burstell was quoted by Vogue as saying: “Since moving to the UK and joining Liberty three years ago I discovered a wealth of creative, talented and interesting people I wanted to work with and so decided to do this in one big project where we could donate the proceeds from the product sales to charity. National Treasures enables the great British public to come in to Liberty and buy something completely unique created by their idols and know that they are also supporting their nominated charities too."

So what have they got? Queen of dramatics, Vivienne Westwood, designed a Liberty print crown. The crown was originally designed for her Harris Tweed autumn winter collection and uses a patchwork of prints emblazoned with badges and brooches. With a guide price of £1500, the proceeds will go to Vivienne Westwood’s chosen human rights charity, Liberty.

Vivienne Westwood Launch Ethical Bags

Submitted by Emma Waight on Fri, 06/24/2011 - 10:16

132 Vivienne Westwood weekender bag

Vivienne Westwood has never been one to sit on the fence. As chief designer of her own name fashion label, she has shocked and evoked great emotion through her designs. She is often considered responsible for bringing modern punk into mainstream fashion, maybe now she can do the same for ethical fashion.

Vivienne Westwood has launched a new range of ethical bags for A/W ’11-’12. Previewed at trade show Pitti Uomo in Florence, the range is now available to buy online. Each bag is handmade in Nairobi, Kenya, in collaboration with the Ethical Fashion Programme with the aim of supporting marginalised communities of women.

The result is a collection of travel, clutch, shopping and banana bags which retain Westwood’s signature punk-rock style but with the ethical provenance to shop guilt free. Not only are these bags supporting communities in a social way, but they are using local waste materials. Items such as roadside advertisement banners, safari tents and old clothes have been upcycled to produce these fashionable items.

Among the items is the weekender bag (pictured) made from recycled canvas with artisan golden metal orb and studs. It costs £200 and can be

133 Vivienne Westwood shopper

expanded to provide more space for travel essentials. There is also the eagle print shopper, lined with a patchwork of recycled clothing fabrics and with a leather tassel and handles for £155. Clutch bags are priced £140 and large banana are £200.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood Profile

The Bottom Line

Vivienne Westwood Blog Posts

Vivienne Westwood Designs Royal Inspired Queen’s Jubilee Gowns

Red Carpet Fashion at the Baftas 2012: Who Wore What?

Fashion Conscious Stationery for Stylish Thank You Letters and 2012 Diaries

National Treasures Launched at Liberty by Stella McCartney, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood Launch Ethical Bags

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