A World's End History of SEX and Seditionaries - Vivienne Westwood
A timeline, as found at Seditionaries.com of Vivienne Westwood’s impact on the world. I have always considered her work as more costume drama than fashion, but then again, I guess all the good fashion is, right? A good designer gives you armour and personality with every outfit.
Vivienne in the 70s (via designboom.com)
1971
Back of Paradise Garage / Let it Rock
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren rent the back of Paradise Garage at 430 Kings Road. Initially selling Rock’n’Roll records, Vivienne starts making bespoke Teddy Boy clothing and so starts 10 years of subversive creativity.
1972
Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die
Tiring of the reactionary Uxbridge Teddy Boys Westwood and McLaren look to the Rocker for ‘Outsider’ inspiration. So starts the use of fetishistic materials such as rubber, leather, zips, studs and chains.
Director Ken Russell incorporates their clothing for the fantasy scene in ‘Mahler,’ a film about sacrifice and beauty featuring a crucifixion and Nazi’s.
1974
Sex
A padded pink plastic SEX sign above the shop announces the arrival of a truly creative period. Clothing featuring sadomasochistic porno quotes and images alongside Situationist sloganeering are enhanced with the arrival of shopgirl Jordan. A t-shirt listing Westwood & McLaren’s ‘loves and hates’ with the title ‘one day your gonna wake-up and know which side of the bed you’ve been lying on!’ delivers the first mention of ‘Kutie Jones & the Sex Pistols.’ The world is waking up to an uneasy stir at the bottom of the King’s Road……Glen Matlock starts as Saturday sales assistant after going to enquire about brothel creepers, things are starting to take shape
1977
Seditionaries
Oh Bondage Up Yours! An unwelcoming shopfront, images of a bombed Dresden and an upside down Piccadilly Circus - dare you cross the line? Johnny Rotten makes the bondage suit ‘punk armour’ for the rest of the decade. Jamie Reid’s controversial graphics confront and confuse the masses. The tabloid press create a welcome hysteria. Two 7’s clash and youth culture in England has its summer with a thousand July’s. ‘God Save The Queen’ creates anarchy in the UK!1980
Worlds End
Sun, Sea & Piracy. A giant clock with its hands spinning backwards, a shop with the interior of a galleon, and a band called BowWowWow with an underage singer praising the joy’s of sex. Another chance for Westwood & McLaren to brighten the streets of England before the inevitable Recuperation. “He who fucks nuns eventually joins the church!”
Vivienne now…horns and allHero Worship: Edith Head
“Costume designer Edith dressed some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, creating both style icons and iconic outfits – a sort of Patricia Field of her day but bigger, better and even more glamorous […] The list of those who she created costumes for reads like a who’s who of Hollywood greats - Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Shirley McClain, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn and more all benefited from her keen eye and sense of style. She worked very closely with Alfred Hitchcock and you can thank her for the signature style of his blonde bombshell heroines.
The result of all her hard work was an incredible 35 Oscar nominations for movies such as Funny Face, Roman Holiday, The Man Who Would Be King and The Sting, and the more wins than any other woman in history.
Edith’s personal style was as memorable as the costumes she created, with her signature hairstyle – an of-the-moment fringe and chignon at the back - and dark glasses that were rarely removed.”From Elle UK
The main thing I love about Edith, besides the fact that she was a powerhouse of creativity, she knew how to make a woman look like a woman, the best woman possible. She whipped the Hitchcock dames into a sultry fury with her designs. And she totally sexed up the Bible.
From ‘The Ten Commandments’
Saucy, booby and sacreligious? Awesome. Is she wearing a bra or is that just divine intervention? This design is both gaudy (like the rest of the production) and modern. You could totally wear this out to a cocktail party. Totally.
Her favourite favourite favouritist costuming gig? Edith takes on ‘Roman Holiday’ - Ingenue to Princess in a thousand stitches.
I don’t know which I want to be more…scooter-crazy or bejewelled!
While, yes, she had some the most amazing women to work with (Audrey Hepburn and Mae West to name a few), she knew what she was doing with them. She knew how to make it all work in terms of the design brief.
Also? Bitch had a killer fringe. Damn.
Project: Madison's Birthday Suit
A chick I used to work with, Lisa, has a little girl called Madison. It’s her birthday on friday and because I was bored I offered to make her a leotard and tutu/skirt for the party (It’s Wiggles themed, but she wanted to be a ballerina like Dorothy the Dinosaur) So imagine this leotard (which i can’t help but think ‘retarded leotarded’ about) with a huge picture of Dorothy ironed onto the front.
Pattern used: McCall’s Costumes M5680 (size cce: 3-4-5-6)
Material: For leotard, pink stretch suiting, 6mm non-roll white elastic, 8inch regular dress zip (cut to size…whoops!). For tutu, pale wedding veil tulle, 5mm pink satin ribbon and small ribbon roses, bought for a song at a quilting show (zomg, quilting)
Things I Learned From This Project: Oh GAWDS, I never want to use suiting again. It ladders, it’s flimsy and only stretches one way. I should have left more time for the skirt, but it was simple enough that it didn’t completely kill me. Sewing on little pink ribbon roses did. Argh! Wedding veil tulle is AWESOME. It’s soft, drapes beautifully and is actually pretty cheap (is folded three times on the spool and is about $9 a meter at Cleggs). Ribbon was easy enough, but should have bought something wider. And making things for kids is HARD, because my brain constantly thinks about whether it’s big enough…haha.
Pictures of the finished articles can be found here. Photos of Madison actually in the outfit will be forthcoming next week!
This Is How We Do It
“Every day each of us wakes up, reaches into drawers and closets, pulls out a costume for the day and proceeds to dress in a style that can only be called preposterous.”
Mary Schmich
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
I like pretending to be someone else. As often as possible. Costumes help this no end.
My mission with this blog, and I really do choose to accept it, is to make as many outfits as I can, from either scratch or constructed from already made pieces. New outward representations of parts of me (and others) that have always existed.
Come with me now on a journey through time and space…and possibly cakes, screaming fits at sewing machines and late night construction orgies. And bourbon. And wine.
Now, as Anna Pavlova said on her deathbed, get my swan costume ready…
