Vivienne Westwood holds a particular place in the public consciousness, beloved for each her style and her activism. Her garments have turn out to be as immediately recognizable as her purple hair, her love of corsetry, crinolines, and tartan cementing her place in style historical past. Now, virtually 4 years after her dying, The Bowes Museum in County Durham will host the first retrospective of her work, Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Visionary – Storyteller, focusing particularly on her adolescence working together with her companion, Malcolm McLaren.
“There hasn’t been a major Westwood retrospective since her death in 2022, so we are privileged at The Bowes Museum to be presenting her work on this scale,” explains curator Rachel Whitworth. “Her work was wide-ranging in its historical references, but always of its time and has stood the test of time in the longevity of her influence and reputation. I think the increased interest in Westwood since her death makes this a perfect moment for a retrospective, both to remind visitors of her extensive output and to introduce her to new generations.”
Westwood had a private connection to the museum, having beforehand opened a serious exhibition of lace there, Fine & Fashionable: Lace from the Blackborne Collection, again in 2006, to which she additionally lent some items. “This personal connection is echoed in the museum’s collection, which contains many objects, such as historic fashion, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, metalwork, and woodwork, of the type which inspired Westwood at the V&A and the Wallace Collection,” provides Whitworth. “It was the parallels between her historic inspiration and The Bowes Museum’s collections that led private collector Peter Smithson to approach the museum in the first place.”
As for the present’s subtitle, Rebel – Visionary – Storyteller, Whitworth explains that they have been chosen to display each the development and circularity of Westwood’s profession. “From the beginning, she and Malcolm McLaren rebelled against the mainstream and created ‘worlds’ in their shop at 430 King’s Road, London, in its different guises, responding to themes and movements,” she says. “They encouraged buyers to enter that ‘story’ or lifestyle through the clothes. Westwood’s genius for storytelling or the creation of worlds through the themes of her collections is particularly strong in her early to mid-career years, for example in Pirate (Fall 1981) with McLaren, Harris Tweed (Fall 1987) and Dressing Up (Fall 1991). This ability to transcend time and trends and to make her style and influence last across the decades is part of the visionary strand of her story, along with her support for environmental and political causes which have become more prescient over time.”
Here, Whitworth picks her six key items from the assortment and explains why they’re a must-see.
The Crinoline
“Westwood is known for her inspiration from fashion history. The corset and crinoline are probably the most obvious examples. Introduced in Mini-Crini (Spring 1986), the signature mini-crinis were inspired by crinolines, derived from crin (French for horsehair). While considered to be one of her more unwearable garments, except on the catwalk, Westwood ensured that historic influence met practicality by using flexible plastic boning for structure so they would be light to wear and always spring back to shape.”
The Corset
“There are several Westwood corsets in the exhibition, shown as framed works of art and as part of ensembles. Westwood introduced her ‘Stature of Liberty’ corset for Harris Tweed (Fall 1987) and it quickly became a signature piece. She had used undergarments over outerwear in previous collections, but here, the undergarment became the outer garment in its own right. Westwood made three changes to adapt the historic template for modern-day wear. The boning was replaced with flexible plastic strips, the side panels were made from elasticated fabric, and the lacing was replaced with a zip.”
The Crown
“Harris Tweed (Fall 1987) also saw the introduction of the Westwood crown. She used it to give her collection a sense of royalty, affectionately referring to Harris Tweed as her Royal collection. Westwood thought her crown was very practical, regularly wearing one while cycling around London. Its iconic fashion status was confirmed when it was worn by model Sara Stockbridge on the cover of i-D magazine in August 1987, and it has become one of Westwood’s most recognizable pieces, combining humor with tradition. The original design was created by milliner Stephen Jones (b.1957). Westwood cut the numerous pieces of brightly colored tweed herself. Jones then sewed them together, adding 3D ‘jewels’ to the sides and top, which he created by folding the fabric as if doing origami. He added an ‘ermine’ trim using fun fur from Berwick Street market in Soho.”
Tartan
“Tartan has a long history in fashion. Beginning as a woolen fabric worn for warmth and practicality in the Scottish highlands, its designs became more colorful and varied as they were identified with individual clans. Vivienne Westwood originally used tartan for bondage trousers during the punk movement of the mid- to late 1970s, revisiting the pattern throughout her career. For Anglomania (Fall 1993), she worked with weavers Lochcarron of Scotland, playing on the idea of the clan tartan and introducing a number of tartans dedicated to family members.”
Works of artwork
“Westwood was inspired by works of art in different forms, which is a major reason why her work is such a good fit at The Bowes Museum, a collection of both fine and decorative arts. For example, the title of Voyage to Cythera (Fall 1989) was inspired by artist Jean-Antoine Watteau’s (1684–1721) The Embarkation for Cythera (1717), the birthplace of Aphrodite, in the Musee du Louvre, Paris. Following her marriage to Andreas Kronthaler in 1992, he and Westwood reimagined the work of some of history’s great artists. They reproduced imagery by Francois Boucher (1703–1770) and Peter Paul Rubens (1570–1640) through printed fabrics, and named designs, the ‘Hals’ shirt and ‘Gainsborough’ blouse, after Frans Hals (1582–1666) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788). Fully-printed ensembles were designed to give the impression of wearing an artist’s canvas.”
Tailoring
“Alongside the ripped T-shirts of her punk days, Westwood is known for her tailoring—mainly for women, but she designed for men, too. From her Pirate collection (Fall 1981) onwards, she reworked traditional designs into bold new forms. This is most evident in her tailored jackets. The ‘Bettina’ jacket was named after model Bettina Graziani (1925–2015) and first appeared in Grand Hotel (Spring 1993). It is a tight-fitting short jacket with a complex structure. We are showing two examples from Vive La Cocotte (Fall 1995) and Storm in a Teacup (Fall 1996). The Storm in a Teacup ‘Windy Bettina’ jacket is made even more complex by being bias cut.”
Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Visionary – Storyteller is at The Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle in County Durham from March 28 to September 6, 2026.
