Dame Vivienne Westwood made punk spirit and Anglomania chic. Her militantisme anti-establishment, subversive attitude inspired by the radical-chic is today focused on disarmament, climate change and civil rights. It is what I like to call refined punk, the luxury à la française layered with the British eccentricity. What better fashion accessory to talk about this in a concentrated symbol than hats. Throughout the years they adorned her collections like epitomes of stylish ideology and still do under Andreas Kronthaler’s signature.
The Parisian boutique on rue Saint Honoré, presents this traveling pop-up exhibition till June 22. We discover 27 years of craftsmanship and ingenuity starting with the Feather Beret from the 93/94 gold label “Anglomania“ winter collection; it was the year when Vivienne Westwood married Andreas Kronthaler. The beginning of the 90’s is also when Vivienne Westwood was internationally acclaimed, British Designer of the Year in 1990 and in 1991, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992. Her impact in the fashion world and her socio-political presence are of main importance.
Later she will be honoured Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) and again British Designer of the Year in 2006 and in 2008 she becomes Doctor of Letters, honorary of the Heriot-Watt University, Edinburg for her work in fashion with the Scottish traditional textile.
Celebrating the collaboration with Prudence Millinery started in 1990, “Iconic Hats” is retracing the dialogue between Vivienne Westwood’s fashion symbolism and the intricate knowhow of the independent London based master. All the hats are made in the most traditional technics she acquired during a decade next to the biggest masters. In 1996 is honoured the “Best Accessories Award” for the men collection made for Vivienne Westwood, by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. You can discover in this exhibition real innovative hats from their archives.
The Silver Pope Hat from the “Sexercise” collection, the first signed Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, presented in March 2016 in Paris. The Giant Purple Flower decadent romanticism; or the arte-povera sculptural Dog Mask from the “Untitled” spring-summer 2019 collection.
Headwear as manifest like the iconic Naomi Turban, where the tartan is exotically shaped, worn by Naomi Campbell “On Liberty” Autumn-Winter 1993/94 show; the Helmet Feather from the memorable “World Wide Women” Autumn-Winter 2011/12 militant collection, or again, the Chopped Feathers from the “Save the Rainforest” collection Autumn-Winter 2014/15 and the Bucket Hat from “End Ecocide” Spring-Summer 2015.
to read also on UFashOn magazine