Not currently on display at the V&A

Jumper

1977-1980 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This multi-coloured, cropped mohair and string jumper was probably made in the later 1970s. It was the heyday of the punk movement and this type of garment set the punk fashion for torn and unravelling sweaters.

From 1976, the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren sold similar tops in their shop ''Seditionaries' in the King's Road, London. Westwood explained: ‘I started making mohair jumpers for the girls - you couldn't even buy mohair then. I loved the beatnik idea of wearing a man's sweater with tights.’

Real mohair is made from the fine hair of the angora goat. Imitation mohair can be made from a blend of wools.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Knitted mohair and string
Brief description
Jumper, f, red, orange and yellow loose-knit mohair, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, Britain, 'Seditionaries' Collection, 1976.
Physical description
Red, orange and yellow loose-knit mohair long-sleeved, cropped jumper.
Dimensions
  • At bust circumference: 74cm
  • Length: 25cm
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
This multi-coloured, cropped mohair and string jumper was probably made in the later 1970s. It was the heyday of the punk movement and this type of garment set the punk fashion for torn and unravelling sweaters.

From 1976, the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren sold similar tops in their shop ''Seditionaries' in the King's Road, London. Westwood explained: ‘I started making mohair jumpers for the girls - you couldn't even buy mohair then. I loved the beatnik idea of wearing a man's sweater with tights.’

Real mohair is made from the fine hair of the angora goat. Imitation mohair can be made from a blend of wools.
Collection
Accession number
T.94-2002

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Record createdOctober 21, 2002
Record URL
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