It’s been almost a year and a half since Vivienne Westwood passed away at the age of 81, but the designer continues to make waves. In life, Westwood was guided by an unwavering moral compass, speaking out against everything from climate change to nuclear disarmament to unlawful detainment. Her design career reflected her values, releasing collections that parodied the British monarchy and provocative T-shirts that denounced fascism.
Posthumously, Westwood continues to support the causes that she held close to her heart. In a two-part sale (consisting of a live auction on June 25, as well as an online sale running now through June 28), Christie’s are auctioning hundreds of pieces from the designer’s personal collection. One hundred percent of the sale’s proceeds will go to The Vivienne Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Amnesty International.
As fashion fanatics, we at Vogue can’t help but drool over Westwood’s collection, overflowing with orb jewelry, Harris tweed, and—of course—her signature corsets. While we may not be buying ourselves, we all have our eyes on certain pieces from Vivienne Westwood’s formidable personal archive.
Olive green cavalry twill ‘back button’ jacket and skirt (Harris Tweed, fall 1987)
The primness of this Harris tweed ensemble with its whiff of librarian chic is delightful to me, as it seems to reference VW’s love of books and also her youth and early career as a school teacher. For me, there is a direct link to be drawn between Britain’s post-war austerity measures and the DIY aesthetic that defined Westood’s early work. —Laird Borrelli Persson, archive editor
Navy blue serge two-piece (World’s End Witches, fall 1983)
Not very original in my choice, I am afraid, because who wouldn’t want this? It’s so fantastic. But what is deeply and wildly original: Vivienne, as this, and just about every other lot in this sale, underscores. In the case of the Witches collection, with its spooky pointed shoulder tailoring, its horn buttons (just like those on the traditional British duffle coat), its triple-tongue white high-top sneakers, and its collaboration with artist Keith Haring, who did the prints, it was another link with Vivienne’s historicism and her relentlessly inventive take on cutting and construction. She wore a similar suit—maybe it was even this one—to be photographed once, and it has always stood for everything I could possibly love about her work—and her. —Mark Holgate, fashion features director
White cotton Frame t-shirt (ca. 1990)
Frankly, I’d be delighted with just a T-shirt—specifically, the Boucher painting of the shepherd and sleeping shepherdess in a gilded Westwood orb frame. (The painting hangs in the Wallace Collection, my favorite museum in London and one of Dame Viv’s favorites too.) My first thought was how perfect it would be for a summer festival or concert in the park. But really, I’d be too terrified to wear a collector’s item like that to any event where drinks are flowing. —Liam Hess, living editor
Wool MacAndreas tartan suit (Anglomania, fall 1993) / Shocking pink satin pajamas (Grand Hotel, spring 1993)
Looking at the Vivienne Westwood auction, I see all the items divided into one of two categories: slightly more practical, and slightly less practical. On the slightly less practical end, the wool tartan suit is exactly the kind of thing I’d like to walk home with. I imagine I would be burning hot waiting on a subway platform to go to work in this ensemble, but it would be made okay by the fact that I would be the most impossibly chic person waiting for the 4/5 train. Of the slightly more practical (practical is a relative term), I’m eyeing the pink satin pajamas, or ‘pyjamas’ as the Brits like to say. Nothing says like dreaming sweet dreams like fuchsia. —Lucy Dolan-Zalaznick, senior associate, creative development
Paste-set gilt-metal orb earrings (Anglomania, fall 1993)
As someone who recently started collecting (and wearing) earrings, I am lusting over these orb earrings from the fall 1993 collection. They’re the perfect amount of kitsch and sparkle. —Christian Allaire, fashion and style writer
Paste-set gilt-metal ‘Westwood’ choker and matching earrings (Grand Hotel, spring 1993)
As much as I love a Vivienne Westwood corset, the six-chain choker bedecked with charms spelling out the designer’s name is calling me—loudly. It’s gaudy (which I love) and the fact that the matching earrings come with the vintage cigarette box Dame Westwood kept them in? Irresistible. —Leah Faye Cooper, digital style director
Emerald green Duchesse satin two-piece (Winter, fall 2000)
While I am lured by the siren song of a corset (who does it better than Vivienne, after all?), I can’t help but return to this vibrant emerald skirt set with the asymmetrical stitching, nipped waist, and draped shoulder. Perhaps it’s the photo of Westwood wearing the dress in her garden, foot triumphantly planted on a chair, but there’s something especially joyous and life-affirming about this piece. —Hannah Jackson, fashion writer
Gilt metal necklace and matching earrings hung with articulated skeletons (ca. 2000)
My 4-year-old Arthur is very into skeletons at the moment so I feel this gilt set would be a big hit in my house! —Chloe Malle, editor, vogue.com