You don’t need to be a British fashion connoisseur to know the name of Vivienne Westwood. At the heart of British style since the 70s, the late Dame of the British Empire continues to be synonymous with rebellious rock ‘n roll spirit.
This June, Westwood’s fans have an unprecedented opportunity to carry on her legacy. Christie’s London auction house is presenting Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection, complete with two sales of over 200 lots from Vivienne's wardrobe. The live auction will take place in London on June 25, and the online sale will run from June 14-28. 100% of the hammer proceeds will be split between causes close to the designer's heart: The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Greenpeace.
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Westwood founded The Vivienne Foundation in 2019 with an aim "to create a better society." The non-profit partners with NGOs that are aligned with their four-pillar mission: stop climate change, stop war, defend human rights, and protest capitalism.
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The lots will include some of Westwood’s most culturally significant pieces, dating all the way back to her Witches autumn/winter collection from 1983/84. Beyond offering garments, Christie’s announced that the live sale will also include playing cards designed by Vivienne. Titled THE BIG PICTURE – Vivienne’s Playing Cards: Collect the Cards. Connect the Cards, this unique set reflects the designer’s philanthropic mindset with prints depicting several human rights issues.
Financial Times journalist Alexander Fury anticipates heavy interest: “Institutions worldwide will doubtless be fighting over items from landmark collections such as Harris Tweed (autumn/winter 1987), in which Westwood reintroduced the corset, and On Liberty (autumn/winter 1994), in which she reinvented the bustle.” Undoubtedly, shoppers around the world are already eyeing some of these pieces.
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In everything she did, Vivienne Westwood's wanted to benefit humanity. In her manifesto Active Resistance to Propaganda, she writes, “I make the great claim for my manifesto that it penetrates to the root of the human predicament and offers the underlying solution. We have a choice to become more cultivated, and therefore more human; or by not choosing, to be the destructive and self-destroying animal, the victim of our own cleverness.” Vivienne's garments are certainly works of art in their own right, but their value also lies in symbolizing her desire to improve the human condition.