She may have dressed the world’s biggest stars, but the forthcoming Vivienne Westwood auction will shine a light on the late fashion designer’s personal wardrobe. More than 200 lots of clothes, jewellery and accessories worn by the punk queen and activist are set to go under the hammer at Christie’s in June to raise money for good causes she supported. Here’s everything you need to know about the Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection sale.
The Vivienne Westwood auction in June will shine a light on the British fashion designer as the pioneer, climate activist and non-conformist that she was. From her infamous shop ‘Sex’ on the King’s Road to collecting an OBE at Buckingham Palace whilst wearing no underwear, the self-styled queen of punk ripped up the rulebook, earning a place in fashion history as one of the most influential designers of modern times. And now, a year and a half after her passing at the age of 81, Westwood’s own wardrobe is to go under the hammer at Christie’s in June.
London-based Vivienne always kept the capital on the fashion map, with A-list celebrities from Kate Moss to Sarah Jessica Parker and Adele to Harry Styles wearing the label on the red carpet. But it was Vivienne who was the brand’s ultimate poster girl, dressing head-to-toe in her designs whether taking a bow on the runway or running errands in her neighbourhood of Clapham. Over 200 items from her personal collection have been handpicked for the auction by Andreas Kronthaler, Vivienne’s husband and Creative Director of Vivienne Westwood, with a live sale taking place on 25 June, as well as online from 14 to 28 June.
The looks have been chosen by Andreas to represent significant moments in Vivienne’s life and career from the last four decades. The earliest date from her Autumn/Winter Witches collection in 1983/84, including a two-piece ensemble of navy-blue serge. Other collections to feature in the auction include Dressed to Scale, Autumn/Winter 1998/99, which saw the designer play with scale – notably a corset in silk taffeta and a voluminous floor length silk skirt which Vivienne wore to a glittering awards ceremony at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1998.
Never afraid to use her designs to campaign for positive activism, Westwood’s Autumn/Winter 2005/06 Propaganda collection was her most overtly political and a dress with a printed propaganda modesty panel and apron is featured in the sale. Fittingly, proceeds from the Vivienne Westwood auction will go towards The Vivienne Foundation, which partners with NGOs to create a better society and halt climate change, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace. To coincide with the sale a free exhibition, Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection, is open to the public from 14 to 24 June at Christie’s on King Street.
“Vivienne Westwood’s sense of activism, art and style is embedded in each and every piece that she created,” says Adrian Hume Sayer, Director Private & Iconic Collections, Christie’s, Head of Sale. “The presale exhibition and auctions at Christie’s will celebrate her extraordinary vision with a selection of looks that mark significant moments not only in her career, but also in her personal life. This will be a unique opportunity for audiences to encounter both the public and the private world of the great Dame Vivienne Westwood and to raise funds for the causes in which she so ardently believed.”
“Vivienne was a style icon throughout her lifetime,” The Vivienne Foundation said in a statement. “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.”
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