Christie’s Is Auctioning Pieces From Vivienne Westwood’s Personal Wardrobe | Fashion | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Christie’s is hosting two auctions this June, selling exclusive looks from Vivienne Westwood‘s wardrobe in aid of charities held dear to the late fashion designer. The first of which will take place live in London and the other online, both auctions will unveil the British designer’s life and career milestones through numerous collections, showcasing over 200 pieces spanning four decades. 

A revolutionary force to rise from the influence of 1950s music and fashion, Westwood first started her journey designing and sewing Teddy Boy clothes for subcultural figure Malcolm McLaren. Together opening boutique shop Let It Rock on 430 Kings Road, the pair lead with a charged rebellion, working alongside punk and new wave bands now recognised as the Sex Pistols. Over time, Westwood would go on to expand her eye for dressmaking, piecing together striking, innovative designs that would form one of the world’s leading fashion brands. Across her career the icon upheld a voice of activism, consistently lending her platform to social and environmental issues. Going beyond protests and donations Westwood often used her collections to amplify important causes; famously bolstering a whole roster of protests at her final London show in 2019. The mid-noughties saw Westwood launch her most political show to date titled ‘Propaganda’, echoing Aldous Huxley’s essay ‘Propaganda in a Democratic Society’ through subversive prints and patterns. 

The Christie’s auction will include garments from Propaganda, alongside key pieces from earlier collections such as Witches, Dressed to Scale and more. First presented in 1983, Witches marked the final collaboration between Westwood and McLaren. A spark of ideas following a trip to visit Keith Haring in America, the collection drew inspiration from the artist himself and hip-hop culture at the time. Elsewhere, 1998’s Dressed To Scale experimented with the vastness of space and silhouettes, delivering an evocative capsule that reflects on 18th-century clothing and the work of satirist James Gillray, who illustrated the impractical, uncomfortable nature of the period’s fashion.

The wardrobe specially curated by Westood’s husband and creative director Andreas Kronthaler will raise funds for The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières, alongside THE BIG PICTURE – Vivienne’s Playing Cards, a project by The Vivienne Foundation to raise funds for Greenpeace. 

Extending the legacy of the designer’s work through partnerships with NGO’s, The Vivienne Foundation shares: “Vivienne was a style icon throughout her lifetime. Her deep interest in intellectual and political ideas informed her natural skill in fashion design, where she became one of the very few true originators. There will simply never be another Vivienne Westwood.”

Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection live sale will take place at Christie’s London, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT on 25 June, and the online auction will take place from 14-28 June.

A free public exhibition titled ‘Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’ will be held at Christie’s from Friday 14th June.