Vivienne Westwood, the legendary British fashion house known for its rebellious silhouettes, unveils a comprehensive exhibition titled Vivienne Westwood: Corsets from 1987 to the Present. The show centers on the enduring corset as a defining element of the brand’s aesthetic, tracing its evolution from intimate apparel to bold public statements on the runway and in everyday wear. Alongside renowned archive looks, the display features corset designs reimagined by Andreas Kronthaler, Westwood’s longtime collaborator and husband, highlighting the ongoing dialogue between creator and collaborator in shaping a cultural icon. The exhibition positions the corset as a cultural artifact, reflecting shifts in art, politics, and fashion through decades of change.
The showcase is set to open in London, aligning with the city’s crafted and curated experiences during London Craft Week. This framing emphasizes the corset’s craftsmanship and its status as a wearable sculpture, produced with the artistry and technical skill that have long defined Vivienne Westwood’s approach to fashion. The narrative underscores how corsetry has traveled beyond traditional boundaries to become a versatile, expressive tool within both couture and street-style contexts.
Westwood’s influence on corsetry is presented as a continuum, tracing the pivot from provocative underpinnings to a statement-making outerwear option. The exhibition illuminates how the silhouette has been repurposed across cultures and artistic disciplines, illustrating its persistent resonance in fashion, performance, and visual arts. Visitors will encounter a conversation between historical references and contemporary reinterpretations, revealing how the corset has endured as a symbol of empowerment, craftsmanship, and innovation.
The program also emphasizes collaboration, with Kronthaler contributing his own reinterpretations and contemporary takes on Westwood’s signature corset language. The curatorial approach invites audiences to see the corset not as mere garment history but as a living, evolving dialogue between designer, wearer, and observer. The exhibition makes clear that the corset’s story is inseparable from fashion’s broader cultural currents and from the art world’s dialog about form, volume, and identity.
Opened as a homage to a pivotal figure in fashion, the show invites attendees to reflect on how the corset has shaped public perception of femininity and strength across generations. It offers a thoughtful panorama of how Vivienne Westwood’s design philosophy—bold, provocative, and relentlessly contemporary—continues to inform and inspire new generations of designers and wearers. By charting the corset’s journey from intimate apparel to high-fashion centerpiece, the exhibition demonstrates fashion’s power to capture cultural moments and to provoke dialogue about style, politics, and self-expression. The experience is designed to be both informative and immersive, inviting visitors to engage with archival pieces, modern reinterpretations, and the tactile reality of garment construction, all within a captivating narrative about influence and resilience. (Citation: Westwood Archive Partners)