Tennants Auctioneers is delighted to present Vivienne Westwood: Five Decades at the Cutting Edge, a single owner sale of fashion from the icon of the British fashion industry, Dame Vivienne Westwood. The auction will take place on Friday 15th August, and the collection will be open for public view from Wednesday 13th August at Tennants’ North Yorkshire Salerooms.
Vivienne Westwood broke the rules of fashion and had an extraordinary influence on British culture and design, from defining the Punk look in the 1970s to her role as global fashion icon and the activism that was central to the later years of her life.
Offering over 300 garments, the collection has been put together over the last twenty years by Susan Baker, a passionate admirer of everything Westwood. Having collected historical costume since the 1990s, a visit to the landmark Vivienne Westwood retrospective at the V&A in 2004 proved pivotal. Immediately feeling a connection with the designer, Baker says:
“Unlike Vivienne, in the 1970s I wasn’t a punk rocker, but I’ve always been a rebel. I love how her clothes are an expression of dissatisfaction with the status quo, of political rebellion.”
Buying the exhibition catalogue, Baker set about collecting as many of the garments featured as possible, scouring antiques fairs, auctions and specialist dealers. Having collected antique costume herself, Baker is particularly fascinated by Vivienne Westwood’s use of traditional tailoring and styles from historic dress, from the cut and slashed draperies of the Tudor and Jacobean Court to 18th century ‘sack-back’ silk dresses and the frothy drapery depicted in works by the French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau.
One of the most iconic pieces in the collection is the two-piece Harlequin Mini-Crini from the Voyage to Cythera Collection, A/W 1989, inspired by figures from the Italian ‘Commedia Dell’Arte’ and the paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau, which is offered with an estimate of £8,000-12,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Further stand-out lots include a Corset from the Portrait Collection, A/W 1990/1 (estimate: £1,000-1,500), a Pin Stripe Suit from the S/S 1994 Café Society Collection (estimate: £500-800) and a Voyage to Cythera Harris Tweed ‘Savile’ Jacket and Nude Leggings, the latter featuring a mirrored fig leaf (estimate: £2,500-3,500). Under the Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren Seditionaries label is ‘The Great Rock N’Roll Swindle’ T-Shirt from circa 1978, featuring images of Sid Vicious (estimate: £500-800).
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