Exploration and Beyond: Westwood Completed (for now)

Vivienne enters the 2000's

Hello beloved’s <3

I hope you’re doing well. Happy happy merry Easter weekend if you celebrate 💛

The nineties wrapped and with it, so did Westwood’s Anglomania era. The dawn of a new age began: Exploration, ranging from 2000-2016.

---

• Summertime, ss 2000. Draped fabrics, red wine spills, muted colours.

  

• Winter, fw 2000. Inspo was Love’s Labour’s Lost by Shakespeare.

  

  I absolutely adore this inspiration and the added invitation:

  

  Winter collection invite

  
  

• Exploration, ss 2001. Westwood’s ode to literature.
  
  The pieces are quite lovely (this minty green damask look below is so pretty) but the backdrop does not do them ANY justice. I’d love to see them photographed in a more appropriate environment. These looks are gorgeous, shiny, warm, they feel like something out of a great novel. But it is as if the runway dresser just heard “literature” and printed out the most life-size .jpeg of books they could find. And that orange floor? Hideous, baby.
  
  I want to see them against a night sky full of stars in a pastoral landscape, or in a cozy rose cottage with a roaring fireplace.

  

  

  Featuring a variation of the Vivienne Westwood piggy necklace, which I love dearly <3

  

  
  

• Wild Beauty, fw 2001. Vivienne’s granddaughter, Cora, first walks the runway at 3. Animal prints, crushed silk taffeta.

  

  
  

• Nymphs, ss 2002. Pastoral. Long eyelashes. Foliage.

  

  

  And a bride ready for the hunt:

  

• Anglophilia, fw 2002. The Anglomania next gen. Ribbons, tweeds, subdued colours.

  

• Street Theatre, ss 2003. Punk roots, relaxed, destruction.

  

• Le Flou Taille, fw 2003. Daytime pajamas, spontaneity, tailoring.

  

  Spring 2004 through to Fall 2006 are skipped on the Westwood blog for this era. You can view them here if you’re curious.

• I am Expensiv, ss 2007. Lace, wealth accumulation critique, and colour.

  

  
  

• Wake up Cave Girl!, fw 2007. Stone age, flintstones. The taffeta bridal gown from SATC.¹

  

  

• 56, ss 2008. “What if Marilyn Monroe married an English lord with a country estate and they had a kinky relationship?”
  

  

  

  
  

• Chaos Point, fw 2008. Cut out paper dolls, theatre, innocence.

  

  

  
  

• Do It Yourself, ss 2009. “Make do and mend” ethos.

  

  
  

• +5°, fw 2009. Inspo from Andrea Mantegna and renaissance armour. Climate change is an integral part of this runway’s message and Pamela Anderson walks <3
  

  

  

• Get a Life, ss 2010. Powdered faces, ribbons, skirts, “fire hair,” and pompadours.
  
  Absolutely love the flaming tights, stately setting, and floral almost-nudity.

  

  

  

  
  

• Prince Charming, fw 2010. About blurring gender roles.²

  

  
  

• Gaia The Only One, ss 2011. Curves, silhouettes, hearts, tutus, the sun.

  

  
  

• World Wide Woman, fw 2011. Agency.³

  

  
  

• War and Peace, ss 2012. Tweed, historical corsets, progress, inspo from Chinese and Tuareg dressing.
  
  I love the blue beauty looks here.

  

  

  
  

• London, fw 2012. Theatre versus the every day.
  
  This collection was ACHING for a better backdrop. It’s all about the glamour of the theatre, honey, and yet all we get is a grey sad drab runway??? Every piece screams “university theatre dressing department” and I love it.

  

  

  
  

• Climate Revolution, ss 2013. Inspired by beetles, insects, and the artist Velazquez.

  

  

  Here we see a brief return to colour, sparkle, and corsets.
  

  

  And shoes in homage to the 1981 Pirate collection!

  
  

• Save The Arctic, fw 2013. Medieval Europe, manuscripts, illustrations, taffeta.

  

  
  

• Everything Is Connected, ss 2014. Measure for Measure by Shakespeare.
  
  I love that the models look a bit like they just wandered into a field of lambs or crawled out of foliage that rained gold. This red gown with the shepherd hook is so yes:

  

  

• Save The Rainforest, fw 2014. Homage to Charles Frederick Worth. Frills, capes.

  

  
  

• Spring 2015. This collection is skipped in the list of collections on the Westwood blog but it is immediately familiar to me for the smeared lipstick look.
  
  I quite enjoy the whimsical quality. The hats, colourful makeup, large bows. It’s all very dolls in their dollhouse.

  

  
  

• Unisex - Time to Act, fw 2015. Bisexuality, hand-tailoring, soft vs hefty.
  
  This collection is a mess so no photos here. Makeup looks cutting it a little too close to blackface. There are quite a few collections in this time period that have very disappointing, questionable beauty choices.
  

• Mirror The World, ss 2016. Pagan origins of the Venice carnival. Renaissance.

  

And with this, ends the Exploration era of Vivienne Westwood 🍷🤍

Vivienne Westwood passed away in December of 2022. She will always be remembered for her lust for life - and how visible this was in many of her designs. Her painted corsets, dazzling gowns, and classic orb jewels are immortal pieces of fashion history. And her memory most certainly lives on.

I am going to include some of the more recent Westwood collections - by the house itself - just to showcase where the brand went after the Exploration era. I will include one runway from Westwood’s husband, Kronthaler, who has taken over the runway collection side of things. I wish all of the newer collections had fun little titles, too.

Fall 2020 ready-to-wear

The modern Westwood house uses many, many a call-back to past Vivienne seasons & pieces. We see the iconic SEX collar, and This Way Up (ss07) here, among a lovely lilac gown and a gorgeous red piece:

Andrea Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Fall 2020

One of Kronthaler’s collections that I adore. Any time a designer uses daggers as a prop I am ATTENTIVE.

Such a stunning setting, as well. The chandeliers are so spirited.

Bella Hadid is this collections bride. I love this dress, the translucent lacy bodice paired with the fluffy sleeves and waist-dagger is fit for any princess <33333333

And a couple little behind-the-scenes details. Massive, LOVELY lovely expansive blue veil:

Fall 2021

Pirate hats back from the eighties, +5 from fw09, painted gowns, Westwood tartan, and silver elevated Ghillie heels:

Fall 2024

This is my favourite of the recent Westwood collections (non-runway). It is very stately manor home country visit Ralph Lauren catalogue.

I could keep going, but I won’t <3

---

Westwood is one of my favourite’s of the fashion world (clearly). To dedicate an entire series on Lily Thistle to Vivienne and her house has been a joy for me, I love seeing the shifting themes, I love noticing patterns, I love gaining further knowledge about something I enjoy.

In contrast, the 2000’s to 2020’s era of Westwood is ultimately not much for me. There are a couple of stand out collections - Exploration ss2001, Get a Life ss2010, Spring 2015. But really, it doesn’t have to be for me. I can understand Vivienne redirecting her designs to suit her own evolving style, as well as admire her incorporating her passion into her runway’s. She was very vocal about climate change and anti-terrorism laws in Britain. At the end of it, to create based on what is meaningful to you is more important than creating based on what people expect of you.

Much critique has come from the blatant shift in tone in Westwood’s work from the nineties to the 2000’s. Vivienne was always an outspoken, provocative person who did what she wanted. Whether you liked it or didn’t.

Many of these collections would have benefited from some sensitivity in beauty looks - poor choices were made. And on occasion, the inspo for the collection is not very visible in the actual garments or vibe, - though who am I .. perhaps I just missed it.

All in all, I would love to know what your favourite Westwood collections have been (or pieces). I hope you have enjoyed this time with me, as I have enjoyed it with you.

Take good care and stay warm, my angels,

xo Katharine

1. <3 the only part of this show I am featuring here is that final gown!

2. I absolutely cannot stand the ugly ass crowns in this collection. I grit my teeth when I think of it having a ‘fairytale’ inspo because.. where. The elements look like something out of a Grade 2 classroom arts & crafts circle. Very Where The Wild Things Are

3. Mmmmm does a bunch of KISS-esque face paint = agency? I’m being rude in these footnotes I apologize