Vivienne Westwood
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Event date 14 – 28 JUN -
Event location London
Christie’s is honoured to have been entrusted with the sale of Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection, featuring iconic looks from her personal wardrobe and The Big Picture – Vivienne’s Playing Cards, a limited-edition set of prints she designed as a strategy to save the world. The live and online auctions — in which all lots were successfully sold — have raised vital funds for charitable causes Dame Vivienne supported throughout her life: The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace.
The London exhibition drew 20,000 visitors, with both auctions attracting bidders from around the globe, from public institutions to Millennial and Gen Z admirers of Vivienne Westwood’s eponymous fashion house and supporters of her plight as an environmental campaigner. The atmosphere of the live auction echoed Dame Vivienne’s energetic spirit and determination, with competitive bidding in the room, on the telephones and via Christie’s LIVE. The live and online auctions totalled £754,488, with The Big Picture – Vivienne’s Playing Cards taking top billing at £37,800. This was followed by a silk taffeta corset gown from the Autumn-Winter ‘Dressed to Scale’ collection that Dame Vivienne wore to a gala event held in her honour at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Underscoring the designer’s belief that clothes should last forever, her hand-stitching is visible on the ‘Gaia The Only One’ ‘Cinderella’ dress from Spring-Summer 2011, which sold for £25,200 against an estimate of £2,000–3,000. Her statement jewellery also performed well, in particular a faux-pearl choker with an ‘orb’ pendant which sold for £10,080 after competitive bidding amid audible excitement from the London audience.
Spanning four decades of one of the most influential British designers of modern times, each item in the sales represented a significant moment in Vivienne Westwood’s life and career. The sale of the collection marks a unique moment in fashion history, celebrating the legacy of this trailblazing designer, punk icon, environmental campaigner, and philanthropist.
The London exhibition drew 20,000 visitors, with both auctions attracting bidders from around the globe, from public institutions to Millennial and Gen Z admirers of Vivienne Westwood’s eponymous fashion house and supporters of her plight as an environmental campaigner. The atmosphere of the live auction echoed Dame Vivienne’s energetic spirit and determination, with competitive bidding in the room, on the telephones and via Christie’s LIVE. The live and online auctions totalled £754,488, with The Big Picture – Vivienne’s Playing Cards taking top billing at £37,800. This was followed by a silk taffeta corset gown from the Autumn-Winter ‘Dressed to Scale’ collection that Dame Vivienne wore to a gala event held in her honour at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Underscoring the designer’s belief that clothes should last forever, her hand-stitching is visible on the ‘Gaia The Only One’ ‘Cinderella’ dress from Spring-Summer 2011, which sold for £25,200 against an estimate of £2,000–3,000. Her statement jewellery also performed well, in particular a faux-pearl choker with an ‘orb’ pendant which sold for £10,080 after competitive bidding amid audible excitement from the London audience.
Spanning four decades of one of the most influential British designers of modern times, each item in the sales represented a significant moment in Vivienne Westwood’s life and career. The sale of the collection marks a unique moment in fashion history, celebrating the legacy of this trailblazing designer, punk icon, environmental campaigner, and philanthropist.
I want you to help me save the world, I can’t do it all on my own—Dame Vivienne Westwood
Highlights
‘Dressed to Scale’ Autumn/Winter 1998/99
A corset gown of taupe silk taffeta.
‘Witches’ CollectionAutumn/Winter 1983
A two-piece ensemble of navy blue serge.
‘Propaganda’ CollectionAutumn/Winter 2005/06
A dress with blue and white striped blouse and printed propaganda modesty panel and apron.
THE BIG PICTURE – Vivienne’s Playing Cards: Collect the cards. Connect the cards.
Ten of Clubs
Dame Vivienne Westwood
embodying the essence of punk,
which surged onto the catwalks and
ignited a cultural revolution in
fashion.
Five of Spades
Dame Vivienne’s graphic representation of
NASA’s geothermal map of the
planet vividly demonstrating the
imminent dangers of climate change.
Two of Spades
Dame Vivienne Westwood and her husband Andreas as Adam and Eve in a dystopian paradise, watching in sorrow at the devastation of the planet.
Exhibition
London
Location
Christie’s London
8 King St., St. James’s
London, SW1Y 6QT
Viewing
14 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
15 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
16 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
17 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
18 Jun 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
19 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
20 Jun 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
21 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
22 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
23 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
24 Jun 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tickets are not required for the exhibition, which is free and open to all.
Please note, to ensure a comfortable viewing experience for all, we ask visitors to kindly check any large bags and oversized umbrellas in at the cloakroom before entering the exhibition.
Enquiries
A Director of the Private Collections and Country House Sales department, Adrian specialises in furniture and works of art. Since joining the department in 2010 Adrian has been responsible for a number of notable collection sales including: Harewood, Collecting in the Royal Tradition, The Collection of Professor Sir Albert Richardson, and Works of Art from the Collection of the Marquesses of Londonderry as well as orchestrating the sales of the personal collections of Margaret Thatcher and Audrey Hepburn. Training as an auctioneer at the age of twenty-one, Adrian initially worked at Tennant’s Auctioneers in his native North Yorkshire before moving to Bonham’s in 2003 and joining Christie’s in 2009. With a particularly strong interest in all types of English furniture and works of art, Adrian sits on the Council of the Furniture History Society as well as on the Selection Committee for the Attingham Summer School. Adrian also has a strong interest in Architectural history.
With almost two decades experience as a Print Specialist at Christie’s, Murray is a seasoned expert with an expansive knowledge of his field and of the print market. Murray qualified with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhodes University, South Africa, where he trained as a printmaker, before joining Christie’s in 2000 as Head of Prints at Christie’s South Kensington. Murray moved to King Street in 2008, where he co-ordinated several record-breaking sales, including Contemporary Editions: Works from the Paragon Press (2008), Hockney on Paper (2012) and James Ensor Prints: The Mira Jacob Collection (2014). Of the many wonderful prints which have passed through his hands, some of Murray’s highlights include Albrecht Dürer’s Samson Rending the Lion (sold for £434,500 in 2015), Rembrandt’s The Three Trees (sold for £434,500 in 2013), Edward Wadsworth’s Turret ship in dry dock (sold for £114,000 in 2006), Picasso’s Buste de femme d’après Cranach de Jeune £410,500 in 2014) and David Hockney’s Fish and Chip Shop (sold for £18,750 in 2017). Before becoming Head of Department in London in 2016, Murray was the director of Multiplied, a fair hosted by Christie’s devoted to contemporary editions (2010 -2015). Murray travels widely in Europe with a special focus on France, Holland, Spain and Switzerland.
Merchandise
SPECIAL PRINT PUBLICATION
To celebrate this landmark occasion, a special edition catalogue will be published to accompany the auctions.
Order your copy of the catalogue now.
LIMITED-EDITION TOTE BAG
A limited-edition canvas tote bag is also available to order.
Save on shipping when you buy your catalogue and tote together.
Supporting
© Hedvig Jenning courtesy of Vivienne Westwood © Finished Films courtesy of Vivienne Westwood © Abbie Trayler-Smith / eyevine © Ugo Camera Homepage: ©Immo Klink © Hedvig Jenning courtesy of Vivienne Westwood