Portrait
Clutch Bag
1991 (made)
1991 (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 design 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.
For this bag design Vivienne Westwood borrowed a detail from J.H. Fragonard's Swarm of Cherubs painting to create an ornate clutch. She reproduced the same detail on a raincoat in the classic style, making an eye-catching and spirit-lifting ensemble for wet weather.
For this bag design Vivienne Westwood borrowed a detail from J.H. Fragonard's Swarm of Cherubs painting to create an ornate clutch. She reproduced the same detail on a raincoat in the classic style, making an eye-catching and spirit-lifting ensemble for wet weather.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Portrait (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed silk and plastic |
| Brief description | Bag, printed silk, 'Portrait' by Vivienne Westwood, after JH Fragonard, Great Britain, 1991 |
| Physical description | Small clutch bag of printed silk with a cherub design, and with gold plasticised lining. Purse style. |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Given by the designer |
| Object history | Registered File number 1992/204. |
| Subject depicted | |
| 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 design 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. For this bag design Vivienne Westwood borrowed a detail from J.H. Fragonard's Swarm of Cherubs painting to create an ornate clutch. She reproduced the same detail on a raincoat in the classic style, making an eye-catching and spirit-lifting ensemble for wet weather. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic reference | De La Haye, Amy, ed. The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947-1997. London: V&A Publications, 1997. p. 125.
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.29-1992 |
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| Record created | September 15, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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