Vivienne Westwood: Defining 90s Fashion

Vivienne Westwood is a landmark name, and she has the right for that big title. Vivienne Westwood was born on the 8th April 1941, and recently passed away on the 29th December 2022. She is someone who will continue to live on, as her legacy is eternal. 

Personally, my favorite time period of Vivienne Westwood is the 90s, for its rich flair, which is something that Vivienne Westwood is known for. The aesthetic of Vivienne’s collection back in the 90s was something of the ‘coquette’ phenomenon which is very famous, even now. From this collection, it reads something like “Victorian dinner”, and “dinner parties”. Some of us can link her fashion to Nana, written by Ai Yazawa, who uses her fashion as a symbol of the characters in the anime. Nana Osaki wears one of Vivienne's signature pieces, which is the Vivienne lighter. Before the 90s, Vivienne was making her mark as a punk rock pioneer alongside Malcolm Mclaren. Her pirate collection in the 80s was the catalyst to implementing historic pieces into the modern age, which inspired the next one. 

In the piece worn by Linda Evangelista, from the Fall/Winter of 1995. The crystals beamed off from it, and the way the feathers cascade downwards. The dress consists of ostrich feathers, and glass beads, worn over a foundation of corset and cage. This dress sets the scene of a ballroom show stopper, or a Cinderella feel of the blue hues, and white powder on the face. This is a part of Vivienne’s collection for the ‘Vive La Cocotte’, and fits the theme completely. A piece that probably had to be worked on, and defined, with how the corset is molded, and shaped. A piece that takes determination & passion, and it’s everything you demand from the craft of the designer. 

The ‘Vive La Cocotte’ was presented on March 18, 1995, at the Louvre Carrousel in Paris. This collection was intended to strike the balance between old and new & inspired by France & Its history. Essentially, with this one, the bow becomes the centerpiece to the ensemble and is accompanied by feathers & sequins. This collection proved to people that Vivienne was someone who could dabble in different aesthetics, from punk to historic pieces.

Vivienne Westwood will continue to inspire a group of young designers, and people who adore fashion as much as I do. I’m someone who’s inspired by all of Vivenne’s pieces, from her fall collections to her days of punk. I am envious of the fact that I couldn’t be alive to witness the craze of the Sex Pistols and how she used fashion as a way to radicalize change, and even to her death, her stance on that never changed. She will be remembered as an activist & a fashion designer.