Vivienne Westwood Archive: Fashion Heritage and Digital Revolution
The 'Fashion and the Politics of Heritage' conference took place in London on November 8-9, 2019, organized by the European Fashion Heritage Association (EFHA) alongside the London College of Fashion, Parsons Paris, and Università Iuav di Venezia. Dolce Cioffo, who serves as the Archive and Special Projects Manager at Vivienne Westwood, presented insights on the brand's archive, which was organized by Murray Blewett in 2015 using Fashion GPS. Spanning from 1970 to the present, this archive serves as a vital source for design inspiration and significantly contributed to the 2018 MoMA exhibition 'Items: Is Fashion Modern?' Cioffo pointed out notable items such as the Rock chicken bone T-shirt (1971) and the Queen of Sheeba dress, underlining the archives' cultural and financial significance through digital heritage marketing.
Key facts
- Conference 'Fashion and the Politics of Heritage' held in London on November 8-9, 2019
- Organized by EFHA with London College of Fashion, Parsons Paris, and Università Iuav di Venezia
- Vivienne Westwood archive exists since brand inception, systematized by Murray Blewett
- Fashion GPS tracking system implemented in 2015
- Archive holds collections from 1970 to present, with gaps in punk era and early 2000s
- Archive used for design inspiration, press, celebrity dressing, and museum loans
- 2018 MoMA exhibition 'Items: Is Fashion Modern?' featured recreated 1993 Anglomania kilt
- Limited-edition kilt collection sold out after MoMA show
- Key pieces: Rock chicken bone T-shirt (1971), Naomi Campbell's Anglomania look (AI 93/94), Vive la Cocotte show (AI 95/96), Save the Arctic T-shirt, Andreas Kronthaler's Dirndl Dress
- Queen of Sheeba dress (AI 95/96) worn by Linda Evangelista and Demi Moore
Entities
Artists
- Vivienne Westwood
- Andreas Kronthaler
- Dolce Cioffo
- Murray Blewett
- Malcolm McLaren
- Naomi Campbell
- Linda Evangelista
- Demi Moore
Institutions
- European Fashion Heritage Association (EFHA)
- London College of Fashion
- Parsons Paris
- Università Iuav di Venezia
- MoMA
- Vivienne Westwood Archive
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- France