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Dress

1984 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

For well over three decades Vivienne Westwood, along with her one-time partner Malcolm McLaren, has been at the centre of British fashion and one of its most inventive and influential designers. Westwood’s career in fashion was galvanised by McLaren and together they launched memorable fashion moments, including Punk in the early 1970s and later their Pirates collection. McLaren and Westwood conducted a desgin relationship between 1971 and 1983. In 1990 and again in 1991 Vivienne Westwood was named British Designer of the Year; she has also received an OBE.

Westwood’s unique mix of practicality and inventiveness, her preoccupation with silhouette and the manner in which she manipulates fabrics result in dynamic fashion. Westwood herself once said, 'You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.’

This dress was part of Westwood’s ‘Hypnos’ collection of 1984. Much of the Hypnos collection featured streamlined garments made from synthetic sports material in fluorescent colours.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton and lycra
Brief description
Dress, f, orange cotton and lycra, Vivienne Westwood, Britain, 'Hypnos' collection, 1984
Physical description
Sleeveless, stretchy mini dress with wide hem and edging.
Dimensions
  • At bust circumference: 71cm
  • Length: 78.5cm
  • Weight: 0.32kg
Marks and inscriptions
'Worlds End' (Label; English)
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support and assistance from the Friends of the V&A, the Elsbeth Evans Trust, and the Dorothy Hughes Bequest
Production
'Hypnos' collection
Summary
For well over three decades Vivienne Westwood, along with her one-time partner Malcolm McLaren, has been at the centre of British fashion and one of its most inventive and influential designers. Westwood’s career in fashion was galvanised by McLaren and together they launched memorable fashion moments, including Punk in the early 1970s and later their Pirates collection. McLaren and Westwood conducted a desgin relationship between 1971 and 1983. In 1990 and again in 1991 Vivienne Westwood was named British Designer of the Year; she has also received an OBE.

Westwood’s unique mix of practicality and inventiveness, her preoccupation with silhouette and the manner in which she manipulates fabrics result in dynamic fashion. Westwood herself once said, 'You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.’

This dress was part of Westwood’s ‘Hypnos’ collection of 1984. Much of the Hypnos collection featured streamlined garments made from synthetic sports material in fluorescent colours.
Collection
Accession number
T.164-2002

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Record createdNovember 6, 2002
Record URL
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