SEX
Pair of Shoes
1974 (made)
1974 (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.
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.’
In 1974 McLaren and Westwood renamed their King's Road shop 'Sex'. The shop offered, among other things, rubber and leather fetish gear, much of it customised by Vivienne herself. These shoes, with their alarming-looking hardware, reflect what curator Claire Wilcox refered to as 'Westwood's ironic appropriation of this kind of forbidden clothing' (Wilcox, C., 'Vivienne Westwood', V & A Publications, 2004, p. 12).
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.’
In 1974 McLaren and Westwood renamed their King's Road shop 'Sex'. The shop offered, among other things, rubber and leather fetish gear, much of it customised by Vivienne herself. These shoes, with their alarming-looking hardware, reflect what curator Claire Wilcox refered to as 'Westwood's ironic appropriation of this kind of forbidden clothing' (Wilcox, C., 'Vivienne Westwood', V & A Publications, 2004, p. 12).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Title | SEX (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | PVC, metal studs |
| Brief description | Shoes, f, black PVC, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, Britain, 'Sex' Collection, 1974. |
| Physical description | High-heeled black PVC sandals. Toe, vamp and ankle straps feature metal studs and ankle strap has two buckles and a decorative metal ring. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Especially for sex 430 Kings Rd., / Chelsea / made in England' (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 |
| 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. 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.’ In 1974 McLaren and Westwood renamed their King's Road shop 'Sex'. The shop offered, among other things, rubber and leather fetish gear, much of it customised by Vivienne herself. These shoes, with their alarming-looking hardware, reflect what curator Claire Wilcox refered to as 'Westwood's ironic appropriation of this kind of forbidden clothing' (Wilcox, C., 'Vivienne Westwood', V & A Publications, 2004, p. 12). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.80:1, 2-2002 |
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| Record created | October 16, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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