Many have said that Vivienne Westwood is an exemplar of one of the only rebels left in fashion, and her FW20 presentation this weekend proved just that. No words were minced. The designer crafted a collection directed towards justice, sustainability and Julian Assange.
“I want to work with Extinction Rebellion and have Julian Assange freed,” she commented at the presentation held at the Serpentine Gallery yesterday.
The clothing spoke for themselves, or rather they screamed and protested with statements aimed towards an ironic yet effective form of fashion activism. Luckily Twin was there first hand to document every bit of it with our photographer Olivia Lifungula who captured all the details of the apparel activism initiated by the designer.
Iconic British fashion houses Vivienne Westwood and Burberry recently joined forces in a collaborative collection released this week. The collection is a celebration of British style and heritage and takes inspiration from Vivienne Westwood iconic collections reimagined from a unisex Burberry approach. From double-breasted and hugger jackets to mini kilts, lace up platforms and berets, all is featured in Burberry’s iconic vintage checkered print. The campaign for the collection features a flavourful cast of names like Kate Moss, Sistren, LadyFag , DelaRosa, Vivienne Westwood , Andreas Kronthaler among others, shot in London by David Sims. The designers of the houses were united by a vision to support and promote a UK non-profit organisation called Cool Earth which works alongside rainforest communities. Four exclusive items from the collection will be auctioned off to raise further support for the organisation along with an oversized T-shirt included in the collection with a handwritten message from Vivienne dedicated to the charity.
KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood celebrates the evolution of woollen garments this autumn at The Fashion and Textile Museum. With over 150 pieces on display, the exhibition features rare crocheted evening dresses, original faire isle jumpers and 1930’s swimwear, from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield. Not only will you find designs from Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garcon, Julien McDonald, Ossie Clark and Mary Quant, but you will also see the technical innovations taken place throughout the ages.
Accompanying the showcase is Visionary Knitwear, a look at contemporary fashion clothing from established and graduate designsers. Sandy Black, professor of Fashion and Textile Design and Technology at London College of Fashion pulls together bold designs from creative talents such as Mark Fast, Sister by Sibling, Lucas Nacimento and Julien Macdonald. Highlighting how knitwear is now daring, bold and has a sense of humour.
KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood opens today and is open until 18th January 2015 at the Fashion and Textile Museum 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF.
Vivienne Westwood is working with her friend Ian Kelly, award-winning biographer of Brummell and Giacomo Casanova, to write the first authorised memoir of her life, due to be published by Picador in October 2014.
It will be personal memoir which will be formed partly of her own voice and partly by contributions from her vast network of friends, family and associates.
“Vivienne is much more than what you first see,” says Kelly. “She is passionately committed to human rights and to eco-politics, but as well as that I am keen to tell the truth about a huge-hearted, warm and witty individual, whose face and clothes are known the world over, but who is also recognisably the Derbyshire primary school teacher who met and fell in love with Malcolm McLaren and changed the world.”
The publication will cover Westwood’s life from before she was a well-known designer, to opening her infamous clothing emporium on the King’s Road, to starting up her own label as a self-taught designer and meeting her current husband Andreas Kronthaler. Her extensive political activism and charitable work will also be covered.
A book that we at Twin looking forward to get our hands on.
Iconic is an often overused word, but when someone manages to not only profoundly shape their art form, but also stay relevant 20 something years into their career, the term is more than justified. Opening today at the ICA, Juergen Teller: W00 is an expansive study of the Erlangen-born photographer’s work.
From his black and white images of Kurt Cobain during Nirvana’s tour in 1991 to the provocative nudes of Vivienne Westwood, every honest and intimate portrait by the German photographer, alongside his longstanding collaborations with brands such as Helmut Lang and Marc Jacobs, not only commemorates his longevity as both a commercial and art photographer but also shows that aside from his trademark overexposed photography technique, what really makes a Juergen Teller image is his connection to the individual.
During a preview of the exhibition yesterday, Teller spoke openly about his work process and decades’ worth of pressing the shutter button:
“With every picture you have to be really open and honest about it and tell people what you want to do. I have no idea what I am looking for in an image, it really varies. I have to have complete concentration on the subject, I never have music playing or people standing behind me talking, it drives me crazy. I need the full attention, of their attention to me as I have attention to them, and that’s why it’s powerful and direct in every picture. My way of working hasn’t really changed that much since the beginning, but I have become a lot more careful, project-based and tend to work in series. I am more confident and secure within myself. I want to explore and see things, I’m curious about life. You only live once, you can’t just be miserable and complain all the time, you have to take risks to do something exciting and that’s what I try to do. You have to fucking go out there and do it.”
Juergen Teller: Woo exhibits at ICA until March 17.
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