SEX
Pair of Shoes
1974 (made)
1974 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
In 1974, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's shop at 430 King's Road, London, underwent its third and most provocative incarnation, becoming SEX. The shop was a loud expression of the couple's interest in social disruption, offering a mix of modified and off-the-peg fetish wear (previously only available via mail order in the UK). To help stock the shop, they created clothing and footwear that allowed their proto-punk clientele to take militantly transgressive looks out onto the street. With their spikes, buckles and shiny red PVC, the stiletto shoes available at SEX referenced a world of 'deviant' sexual practices, an eye-catching attempt to shock.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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Title | SEX (named collection) |
Materials and techniques | PVC |
Brief description | Shoes, f, red PVC, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, Britain, 'Sex' Collection, 1974. |
Physical description | Red PVC court shoes with black soles. |
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 | In 1974, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's shop at 430 King's Road, London, underwent its third and most provocative incarnation, becoming SEX. The shop was a loud expression of the couple's interest in social disruption, offering a mix of modified and off-the-peg fetish wear (previously only available via mail order in the UK). To help stock the shop, they created clothing and footwear that allowed their proto-punk clientele to take militantly transgressive looks out onto the street. With their spikes, buckles and shiny red PVC, the stiletto shoes available at SEX referenced a world of 'deviant' sexual practices, an eye-catching attempt to shock. |
Collection | |
Accession number | T.81:1, 2-2002 |
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Record created | October 16, 2002 |
Record URL |
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