Lot Essay
Vivienne Westwood illustrated wearing this look opposite when walking the runway at the close of the Paris show for the Westwood Spring/Summer 1998 Tied To The Mast collection.
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Five Centuries Ago Inspired in part by ‘Dynasties’, an exhibition of Tudor and Jacobean portraits at London’s Tate Gallery in early 1996, the collection translates the court costumes of Renaissance England to the present day. Westwood had drawn on the slashed doublets and codpieces of the period before and made direct allusions to the dress more commonly found in Holbein portraits with mid-20th-century couture and her own love of sexually provocative costume. The show’s invitation featured a print of the infamous and anonymous 1594 portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées, mistress of French king Henry IV, having her nipple tweaked by her sister. The show was staged in the Lido de Paris, so Westwood’s exploration of exposed underwear, with external brassieres and skirts slit high to reveal suspender belts was appropriate. Westwood’s 18th-century necklines were cut square in emulation of the bodices seen in Tudor portraits, often with standing collars. For the collection’s accompanying advertising campaign – Westwood’s first – the designer herself appeared dressed as Queen Elizabeth I (see A. Fury, Vivienne Westwood Catwalk, London, 2021, p.398).
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, 'FIVE CENTURIES AGO' COLLECTION, AUTUMN-WINTER 1997 / 98
A BURGUNDY AND GREY FLANNEL TWO PIECE SUIT
Details
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD,
'FIVE CENTURIES AGO' COLLECTION,
AUTUMN-WINTER 1997 / 98
A BURGUNDY AND GREY FLANNEL TWO PIECE SUIT
With sculpted bodice, the skirt with pronounced pleats; together with a yellow-trimmed black cotton blouse with bust shaping; chrome and enamel tudor rose buttons, the suit labelled 'Vivienne Westwood Couture', 'Special', the shirt labelled 'Vivienne Westwood Couture'
'FIVE CENTURIES AGO' COLLECTION,
AUTUMN-WINTER 1997 / 98
A BURGUNDY AND GREY FLANNEL TWO PIECE SUIT
With sculpted bodice, the skirt with pronounced pleats; together with a yellow-trimmed black cotton blouse with bust shaping; chrome and enamel tudor rose buttons, the suit labelled 'Vivienne Westwood Couture', 'Special', the shirt labelled 'Vivienne Westwood Couture'
Literature
C. Wilcox, Vivienne Westwood, London, 2004, p. 172, identical model illustrated.
A. Fury, Vivienne Westwood Catwalk: The Complete Collections, London, 2021, p. 399, identical suit illustrated.
A. Fury, Vivienne Westwood Catwalk: The Complete Collections, London, 2021, p. 399, identical suit illustrated.
Further details
The Estate of Vivienne Westwood will donate 100% of the total hammer proceeds received for the sale of her personal wardrobe, less auction expenses, to be split equally between The Vivienne Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières (a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 1026588) and Amnesty International (registered in England and Wales with charity number 1051681).