It seems like only yesterday we lost the legendary British fashion designer and founding mother of punk, Dame Vivienne Westwood. To celebrate her life and legacy, an intimate collection of the designer’s personal wardrobe is going under the hammer at the swanky auction house Christie’s, but not before one last glimpse for the public with an exciting (and free) exhibition on display beforhand.
With roots in Cheshire, Westwood rose to fame in London back in the seventies, shaping the new-wave and punk scene with her beautifully eccentric fashions. For this upcoming auction and exhibition, her husband has hand-picked a selection of clothes from her wardrobe, which will be sold at auction that’s split into two parts, intrinsically entitled Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection.
From pieces created for her Witches collection in 1983 to other legendary looks that she made and wore during the last four decades of her life, expect garments, shoes and jewellery by Westwood’s rightfully self-named fashion house and beyond.
Profits from the auction will be going to support Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace, charities that Westwood supported throughout her life. Proceeds will also be supporting The Vivienne Foundation, a charity the designer founded to envision and create a better world for all, with missions to halt climate change, end war, defend and protect human rights, as well as protest capitalism.
Beyond the clothes and fashions from her mind-blowing personal wardrobe, hopeful bidders will also be able to try their chances and get their hands on limited-edition playing cards that Weswood designed herself, shining a spotlight on issues that mattered to her. Called The Big Picture – Vivienne’s Playing Cards, the project was launched on what would have been the designer’s 83rd birthday, in collaboration with Greenpeace to raise awareness of environmental issues.
The collection will be offered in two parts across a live auction (which is Part I) on 25 June, and an online sale (Part II) running alongside from 14–28 June. The exhibition will also be running from June 14 to 24 at Christie’s King Street HQ, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to get up close and personal with some fabulous fashion history.
You can find Christie’s in Mayfair at 8 King Street St. James ‘s, London SW1Y 6QT. Click here to visit their website.