Vivienne Westwood and punk culture

Vivienne Westwood and punk culture

Andrea Tuzio · 3 years ago · Style

That a primary school teacher from Tintwistle, a small village in Derbyshire in England, became the most influential figure in punk culture and the pivot around which the foundations of a real cultural revolution were laid, reflects an axiom: it is not all clear from the beginning. 

Vivenne Westwood, born Dame Vivienne Isabel Swire in 1941 to Gordon and Dora Swire, spent her childhood between the hardships and poverty of the post-war years, in what we might call a small bourgeois family, watching her mother Dora sew clothes for her and her brothers Gordon and Olga using every piece of fabric recovered.

In 1958 the family moved to London where Vivienne studied fashion and goldsmithing while she became passionate about reading and art. In the British context of the 1960s Westwood understands how important it is to have a stable and “serious” job, she leaves the university, studies shorthand, and finds work as a primary school teacher.

In 1961 she met Derek Westwood – from whom she took her surname – who she married the same year wearing a dress made with her own hands, from this marriage her son Ben was born in 1963.
She only needs a few years, two years to be exact, to understand that this is not the life she wants.
In 1965 she met a friend of her brother’s, Malcolm McLaren, that encounter will change her life and British culture forever, and not only forever, becoming the symbols of that tsunami called punk.

The two of them start dating almost by chance but they get along very well, they feel like each other’s accomplices. They have a son, Joe, and they decide to open a tiny clothing store at 430 King’s Road.
Over time the store changed its name several times, following Vivienne’s inspirations: “Let it Rock”, “Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die”, “SEX”, “Seditionaires” and at last “Worlds End” with the iconic clock spinning backwards.

When the store was renamed “SEX” in 1974, the rich and bigoted community of Chelsea expressed their indignation at Westwood’s bold move, which consolidated her anti-establishment position and as a landmark in the punk movement.
The opaque shop windows appeared to be those of a current sex shop and this prompted potential customers to enter to find out what was being sold inside. It was not a simple shop but a meeting point for the thousands of young Londoners who couldn’t stand capitalism, British materialism but above all the whole of the strongly pro-monarchic public opinion that saw only “young thugs” in punks.

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren shaped punk fashion and dictated the aesthetic canons of the movement we still know today: Narrow silhouettes, safety pins, white T-shirts with swastika as an insult to the ruling class, bondage, latex, the immoderate use of tartan and of course the Sex Pistols, which shocked the UK and the whole world thanks also and above all to the bassist of the band (although he never really played), Sid Vicious and his nihilistic and rebellious lifestyle, of which MacLaren was the manager and Vivienne the stylist.

Once the long wave of punk and her love story with Malcolm McLaren is over, Vivienne raises her two sons with the little money left (also due to the theft of a large sum of money by one of her employees) but she doesn’t go down, on the contrary.
Westwood resurfaces stronger and more tenacious than before, founding her eponymous brand combining history, provocation, and modernity that will be the hallmarks of the collections she will present in the future.

Corsets, her sought-after mini-crini (a bell-shaped mini skirt), Vivienne Westwood plays with British tradition and upsets its dictates, attracting the attention of the media and the entire fashion world.

The Italian Carlo D’Amario, revolutionary, extremist, and businessman, convinces her to move her production to Italy, definitively confirming her commercial success.
She finds the love of her life and her current husband, Andreas Kronthaler, and becomes a grandmother.

At 79 years old, Vivienne Westwood continues to be a character who fights the system (despite the obvious dichotomy between her work and the battles she carries on), an activist against climate change and as she has defined herself, a sort of contemporary Pinocchio, “a rascal with a golden heart”.

Vivienne Westwood and punk culture
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Vivienne Westwood and punk culture
Vivienne Westwood and punk culture
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Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection

Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection

Andrea Tuzio · 3 years ago · Style

The Japanese brand UNIQLO presented the Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 line, a simple and minimalist collection that includes men’s and women’s items.
Taking inspiration from European street culture and using a neutral and soft color palette, the Uniqlo U FW20 collection is an example of the brand’s iconic aesthetic.
A corduroy jacket, a short coat with an oversized collar, a brushed fleece shirt, and a wool jacket are the main items of the collection and to complete the wide range, we find a series of basic T-shirts, trousers, jeans, blazers, hoodies, long sleeve shirts and both crew neck and turtleneck sweaters.

The Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection will be available from September 17th.

Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection
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Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection
Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2020 collection
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Robin Williams, an unlikely style icon

Robin Williams, an unlikely style icon

Andrea Tuzio · 3 years ago · Style

Six years have just passed since the death on August 11th, 2014 of one of the most brilliant, exuberant and talented actors of all time, Robin Williams

Comedian, movie and theatre actor, Williams made a name for himself in the late ’70s and early ’80s thanks to his portrayal of the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy. He then made his breakthrough in the world of cinema thanks to his extremely brilliant performances and his ability to play less funny and dramatic roles.

Three-time Oscar nominee for Best Leading Actor (Good Morning, Vietnam 1987, Dead Poets Society 1989, The Fisher King 1991) and winner for the Best Supporting Actor for his role in Will Hunting , Robin Williams was a volcano erupting both on set and in his private life, for better or worse.

A big fan of streetwear and fashion in general, Williams showed up at the Flubber premiere wearing the bomber, clearly military inspired and functional, of the 1996 Fall/Winter men’s collection by Japanese designer Issey Miyake, a baggy pants and a pair of classic plimsolls. A style in stark contrast to the character he interpreted in the movie, an old-fashioned science professor, who showed how much the actor had a certain taste in dressing and how early he was ahead of his time.

Although Williams often showed himself in public in T-shirts and jeans or wrapped in a tailored suit, he had a real obsession with techwear brands like Salomon and ACRONYM, he loved niche brands like Etro – especially their colourful blazers – he adored Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier and was seen shopping regularly in streetwear stores around the world like Supreme and BAPE.

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His daughter Zelda (named for her love of the Nintendo video game series The Legend of Zelda) recently brought to light her father’s passion for BAPE and many cool Japanese and skate brands through her twitter account telling several anecdotes. 

The feeling that Williams showed for fashion represented a unicum in the Hollywood scene, no matter if he wore an aloha shirt with a print representing flames, a khaki cargo pants, a Chrome Industries bag, a pair of Nike Dunk Low “Viotech” or a bucket hat by Enyce, his style was unique and unmistakable and reflected his nature as an eccentric and passionate man, in love with the clothes he wore that made him an unlikely and timeless style icon.

Robin Williams, an unlikely style icon
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Robin Williams, an unlikely style icon
Robin Williams, an unlikely style icon
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The second drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection

The second drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection

Andrea Tuzio · 3 years ago · Style

Coming on August 28th the second drop, after the first inaugural one that included mainly accessories, of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection.
An expression of their long friendship, the collection is the first collaboration that Louis Vuitton has created under the artistic direction of Virgil Abloh.
A contemporary reinterpretation of the entire range of products of the French fashion house but which respects the iconic styles that have always represented it.

Standing out on all the items of the collection are the heavier items such as the N-2B bomber jacket with hood embellished with fur trim and a graphic on the back that unequivocally recalls the graphics of HUMAN MADE – the brand founded by NIGO in 2010 – a beautiful aviator jacket with the LV² logo embroidered on the chest and a suede fishtail parka and a lining distinguished by the Damier check pattern.
To complete the collection we find knits with buttons, suits characterized by the Damier check pattern with thin ties and shoes, such as hiking boots or moccasins with the classic LV monogram.
There are also a lack of accessories such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, and key rings and the iconic bags of the Maison such as the Keepall and backpacks that mix the Damier check pattern with the monogram pattern.

The drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton LV² collection is scheduled for August 28th at selected retailers and online on the Louis Vuitton website.

The second drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection
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The second drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection
The second drop of the NIGO x Virgil Abloh LV² collection
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The relationship between the world of fashion and fast food

The relationship between the world of fashion and fast food

Andrea Tuzio · 3 years ago · Style

According to Business Insider, rumors of an imminent collaboration between Travis Scott and fast food giant McDonald’s, are confirmed. A memo from the US Chief Marketing Officer, Morgan Flatley, explains in detail the reasons for the operation, which should see the light in early September.

This news allows us to deepen the relationship that exists between the world of fashion and fast food that, strange as it may seem, began in Italy with the phenomenon of costume and closely related to fashion, of “paninari“.

Born in the early ’80s in the Milanese metropolitan area, the phenomenon, characterized by the rejection of any kind of social and political commitment and based on appearance and consumerism, had as its center of aggregation and socialization the new American-inspired sandwich shops (Burghy for example) that had brought to Italy, the country of slow-food, the new concept of fast-food.
The mix between the American brands of the ’50s like Timberland, Levi’s, etc. and Italian brands such as Moncler, Best Company, El Charro and Invicta, defined the Italian youth aesthetic of the ’80s.

The link between the world of fashion and that of fast food has then materialized through pop culture that has made “junk food” an aesthetic and cool element.
Jeremy Scott was the first designer to incorporate this type of element into a collection with Moschino‘s Fall/Winter 2014, featuring a choice of red and yellow colors, golden arches and bold outfits inspired by the work uniforms of McDonald’s restaurants.

Another example of how haute couture has assimilated and embraced mass consumer food products is Chanel‘s Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2014 show, when Karl Lagerfeld paraded the models in a supermarket, among canned soups and cereals.

The world of streetwear, for context and attitude, lends itself much more to this kind of mixing. NIGO, for example, opened its BAPE Café in 2002 and despite abandoning the brand, continued its journey into the culinary world with the launch of the Curry Up restaurant chain in Tokyo in 2010.

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The cultural heritage of NIGO, which ranges from the world of American vintage in the 50s and pop culture (the same that moved the paninari in Italy in the 80s), contributed to the creation of a capsule collection in collaboration between HUMAN MADE and the fast food chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) with the opening of a pop-up store in Manhattan. 

Supreme x White Caste, Liam Hodges x Dominos, Vetements parading in a McDonald’s, KITH Treats and the Carhartt coffee shop are just more examples of a trend that seems to have no limits.

Now we just have to wait and see what the joint venture between Travis Scott and McDonald’s has in store for us, also because it seems to be just the beginning of a series of collaborations between the fast food chain and other personalities from the showbiz world.

The relationship between the world of fashion and fast food
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The relationship between the world of fashion and fast food
The relationship between the world of fashion and fast food
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