Vivienne Westwood UK
WONDERLAND
Narrative is always an integral component of Vivienne Westwood’s design process – part of a rich and long-lasting heritage of storytelling though decorative arts. “My clothes have a story,” she said. “They have a character and a purpose.”
Inspired by the love of Ancient Greece and Rome, myth and fable often inspire Westwood’s designs, with references to fantastical imaginary creatures. Some of these were drawn from baroque and rococo artworks, alongside figures from traditional Italian commedia dell‘arte theatre as featured in the 18th century paintings of Antoine Watteau. There are also references to traditional British legends such as the tales of King Arthur and his court, as well as the Mitteleuropa fairy-tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hansel and Gretel. All illustrate Westwood’s enthusiasm for literature. Vivienne once stated that the best accessory is a book, and in turn she looked to literary personae and stories to inspire her designs, even sometimes using illustrations from novels and prints of books themselves in the collections.
Westwood jewellery often explores notions of the fantastical, the unreal and the fairy-tale, with exaggerated scale, unreal colours and bizarre juxtapositions of elements. They seem to have been pulled from imaginary stories. There is a childlike sense of wonder and excitement, an innocence in exaggerated and naive forms – but also a sophisticated game reminiscent of the Surrealists, displacing insects and flowers to the human body and recreating them in unexpected materials such as metal and ceramic, or adorning jewellery with feathers and hair as if themselves alive.
MARIE JEANNE NECKLACE
Andreas Kronthaler For Vivienne Westwood Autumn-Winter 2019/20 Collection
Brass / Crystals
Unexpectedly, a Ganja leaf and penis are here transformed into motifs decorating a pavé crystal necklace, the leaf unexpectedly suspended from a fragile bow known as a ‘sevigné’ and originating in the jewellery of 17th century France. There is an interplay of tough industry and delicacy here – traditional jewellery motifs combined with a lobster-claw or ‘dog-collar’ clip fastening, a reference to punk hardware that recurs in Westwood jewellery. The dangling penis motif originates from Ancient Greek art and mythology and is a motif Vivienne Westwood first used as buttons for the Spring/Summer 1984 Hypnos collection. Early in their relationship, she also gave an original Ancient Greek phallus jewel to Andreas Kronthaler as a gift, which was reproduced to become an instantly recognisable piece of Westwood iconography.
The Marie Jeannie style appeared in the Autumn-Winter 2019/20 collection, offered in brass, with crystal-embellished details. The piece features classic motifs of the house, such as the bow and penis. The style also features a ganja leaf, which was used here for the first time. These motifs were not designed to provoke, but rather to challenge the perception - reminding people that they were once commonly used in ancient art. The penis was often associated with themes of fertility for instance, or the favour of Gods. The Weed leaf motif originates from the Spring-Summer 2018 collection.
SNAIL BROOCH
Vivienne Westwood Spring-Summer 2000 Collection
Brass / Real Snail Shell
A rare example of a precise reproduction from life, these delicate and surreal ‘Snail’ jewels featured in Vivienne Westwood’s Spring/Summer 2000 and Spring/Summer 2002 collections. Both were inspired by Ancient Greek mythologies, and echoed the bucolic pastoral idylls imagined by Westwood’s favoured artists, Antoine Watteau and François Boucher. The snail brooches and necklaces feature found real snail shells and brass bodies, positioned at odd intervals as if they slithered across sleeping bodies. Westwood often enjoyed toying with surreal ideas and creating accessories and clothes that could pretend to be something other – trompe l’oeil is often seen throughout her work.
The snail motif appeared in the Spring-Summer 2000 'Summertime' collection, which looked to the symbolism of Bacchus - the Roman god of agriculture, wine and fertility. Jewelry was fashioned in the form of snails (with real shells), as if they had slithered across slumbering bodies in a forest.
GUINEVERE NECKLACE
Andreas Kronthaler For Vivienne Westwood Autumn-Winter 2016/17 Collection
Oxidised Brass
A reference to the Medieval British legend of King Arthur, this necklace is named after his wife and queen Guinevere. The rough-hewn chain and pendant of this design nod towards the heavy armour of the Middle Ages, a period Vivienne Westwood often draws inspiration from. Both the design and the oxidised brass surface imply that the item itself may be a relic of a distant past, a piece imbued with meaning and with its own story to tell.
LISETTE EARRING
Vivienne Westwood Spring-Summer 2019 Collection
Resin / Brass
Designed for the Spring/Summer 2019 Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood show, these earrings are a kitsch, childish delight of pastel colours and applications of hearts, smiley faces, and sweets. They bear out Charles Baudelaire’s declaration that “Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recovered at will,” meaning a fresh discovery of everyday items with the wonder of innocence. Here, a genuine beauty is found in these typical symbols, a gleeful pleasure discovered in their application.
This Lisette style appeared in Spring-Summer 2019 collection, titled 'OK…It's Showtime.' The piece features an asymmetrical heart motif, reminiscent of Vivienne's affection for both humanity and the planet. This fanciful style of the piece features signature elements of the house's iconography, notably the bow motif, hardware-inspired dog clips or the 'A&V' branding, symbolising Andreas and Vivienne's union.
Discover More
Orb
Do It Yourself
Origins
Exploration
Wonderland
Parures
