Product Description

Claire Wilcox?s work looks at the career of dynamic and dedicated designer, Vivienne Westwood,and is followed by a comprehensive photographic section which charts the development of Westwood?s ideas and technique, from punk to the present day. Both sections illuminate Westwood?s working methods, looking at her tailoring techniques, fabrics and patterns, and highlighting key influences by featuring some of the objects that inspired her. Over 360 illustrations, many from leading photographers such as Nick Knight, Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz, present highlights of the collections that have been a major influence on fashion, music and art since the 1970s. Outfits worn by the Sex Pistols contrast with more recent creations for Sarah Jessica Parker, Tracy Emin and Cameron Diaz, demonstrating why Westwood is still the most talked-about designer in Britain. The photographs - a mix of ad campaigns, fashion shoots, catwalk shots and rare archive images - have been personally selected by Vivienne Westwood, and present her own vision of the high-points of a career characterised by constant innovation and variety.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #554625 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

worth it!!
If like me, you are fascinated by Vivienne westwood's achievements in fashion then you wont be disappointed. This book was released to accompany the V&A exhibition last year, which was fantastic. I orginially intended to buy this book at the exhibition as a souvenir of the wonderful show, however i lacked the money at the time and was over the moon when i found it on amazon.

The book itself, is better than any of the attempts at writing a decent biography of her career. This is because of the huge contribution westwood made towards the book, which includes pictures from her own collection- and most notably the foreward at the beginning from the designer herself. She worked closely with clare wilcox, who organised the V&A exhibition so she knows her stuff!

And so it begins with the foreward, then a concise history of her career. From her childhood where she made her own clothes, to her punk days with mclaren and onto the present day.
The vast majority of the book is made up of pictures/photos of her much of her collections up to the present day.

It is such an amazing book, i like to flick through it every now and then to draw some inspiration from this truly amazing designer.

Sea, Sun and Piracy
This is a gorgeous,sumptuous book. It works precisely because it let's Vivienne's clothes speak for themselves. The full page glossy pictures of the most influential designer of the 20th Century almost make you salivate. I used to shop at World's End and wore the original Pirate range, but even then I'd still forgotten just how stunning it was. If you are interested in fashion, music, history, art, literature, anarchy and chaos, then this is for you.

Brillant!
I purchased this book for my daughters GCSE Art, Design and Textiles course. Good biography and fantastic pictures of Vivenne Westwoods creations over the years.