EXCLUSIVE: Vivienne Westwood Gold Label Womenswear A/W12

A Vivienne Westwood collection need not follow any convention of the word "collection". If she wants to show a mini 17th/18th century inspired ornate mantua, she can.  If she wants to have a girl trussed up in cream marabou feathers cycling down a catwalk, so be it.  A fleur-de-lis emboldened oversized tabard with angled shoulders? You got it. While Westwood entitled the collection 'London', we’d expect nothing less than an unconventional ode to the city; looking to the 17th century capital of coffee houses, scientists and traders, buoyed by getting involved with theatre director Philip Green's play 'The Man of Mode'.

As per usual, Westwood never lets the past weigh heavily on her as she uses historical references to free her work so that an off-the shoulder corset top (that may have been seen one of Charles II’s minxy mistresses) is paired with a ballooning tulle skirt. A scholar's cape is oversized and puffed up to the point of no return. A 17th century men's frock coat gets turned into pink satin and elongated. There’s nothing predictable to this beautiful chaos and that’s how Dame Viv likes it.

Vivienne Westwood Gold Label A/W12 Womenswear (Paris 3rd March 2012). Show music by Jerry Bouthier, production by Andrea Gorgerino.

Tracklist:

Gonzales – 'Knight Moves (Piano Version)'
Joash – 'Mission (Orchestral Version)'
Gamelan Orchestra – 'Harjuna Mangsah'
? – 'Twinkle Twinkle'
Monteverdi – 'L'Orfeo'
Christophe Rousset et les Talents Lyriques – 'Marche Pour Les Suivants De Fortune'
Mike Patton – 'Twin Primes'
The Lotus Eaters – 'The First Picture Of You (12” Mix)'
Sex Pistols – '(God Save The Queen (Neil Barnes Remix)'
Francisco Yglesia – 'Pajaro Campana (Bell Bird)'
Fabrizio de André – 'Ottocento'

Dazed Digital spoke to Jerry Bouthier following his London Fashion Week mixes for Matthew Williamson, Michael van der Ham, Peter Jensen, Vivienne Westwood Red Label and SIBLING. Click here for the full story...