Vivienne Westwood and Her Working Methods Research Paper

As a designer, Westwood's methodology was immediately defined by her willingness to experiment with an eclectic range of inspirations, and soon after starting her career "she began to research in the National Art Library in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and found patterns for 18th-century men's clothing & #8230; which formed the basis for the billowing shirt and exaggerated trousers of the colorful, romantic 1981 Pirate collection, their first to be shown on the catwalk."2 The 1981 Pirate collection represented turning point in Westwood's career as a designer, demonstrating the potential for innovation available to an artist with a keen eye for historical research, while also confirming that young people are willing to pay homage to past trends provided the clothing is updated with a modern look and feel. As Westwood observes of the Pirate collection, and the working methods which contributed to its lasting success, this period is when she "developed ethnic cutting techniques which are based on rectangles," and when she learned to "start with an idea she knows will work, knock it up in rough and in small scale and try it out on a little dummy & #8230; before arriving at a full scale finished garment in the right fabric through various adjustments and fittings."3 By continuing to integrate age old techniques and styles within her work, Westwood remains at the forefront of fashion and design to this day, producing fresh clothing for a new generation four decades after becoming punk's first lady.

2.) Claire Wilcox. "Vivienne Westwood." Victoria & Albert Museum. (2004).

3.) Paul Johnston. "The early years: 1981-1987." -- Vivienne Westwood.co.uk. (2014).

Bibliography

Johnston, Paul. "The early years: 1981-1987." -- Vivienne Westwood.co.uk. (2014). Retrieved

from http://www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/w/the-story/the-early-years.

Price, Shannon. "Vivienne Westwood (born 1941) and the Postmodern Legacy of Punk Style."

In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vivw/hd_vivw.htm

Wilcox, Claire. "Vivienne Westwood." Victoria & Albert Museum. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.nga.gov.au/westwood/Wilessay.cfm