aficionados were spoilt for choice at this week, where more than 200 of the late designer’s personal items were sold off in aid of The Vivienne Foundation and Médecins Sans Frontières. But there was one stand-out piece that collectors had their eye on: a taupe silk-taffeta gown from her brand’s autumn/winter 1998 collection, entitled . “This magnificent dress was the most technically complex item from Vivienne’s personal wardrobe,” Adrian Hume-Sayer, director of private & iconic collections and head of sale at Christie’s, tells .
“It encapsulated her skill of combining modern and historical references. In it she cleverly brought together a historic form with ribboning referencing her early bondage designs, creating a look with immense presence.” Indeed, the designer’s autumn/winter 1998 collection, shown during , was all about playing with proportion.
Case in point: the gown’s voluminous bubble peplum skirt – which as Alexander Fury notes in his 2021 book, , harks back to the – a style that was popular in European royal circles in the 1770s. It was clearly one of Westwood’s favourite pieces from the collection: she was photographed wearing the gown – styled with a brooch on the bodice, black leather gloves and a matching fascinator – while attending a gala held in her honour at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in November 1998. Other attendees include Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger and Countess Raine Spencer, along with the designer’s husband, .
