LONDON FASHION WEEK Spring/Summer 2022: VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

by Cecile Paul · Published September 18, 2021 · Updated September 18, 2021

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Ahoy Me Hearties! On VIVIENNE WESTWOOD’s ship Anarchy, Chaos, the Boudour Bustiere and the Swashbuckle Boot still Rule Supreme.

All image and video credit: Vivienne Westwood

A plaid tweed suit with miniscule baglet

“I was tied to the mast and the clothes underwent a sea change. On a sailing ship when the tempest arose, everything had to be tied down or be washed away; the women and children were brought on deck and tied to the mast for safety of their lives as the sea engulfed them.” – Vivienne Westwood, from the SS 2022 Press Release

Watch the video of the show here:

We’re not quite shipwrecked (yet) but are most certainly at the mercy of Sir Francis Drake and his buccaneers … This collection, aptly named Save Our Souls, is Vivienne Westwood at her very best – or rather, this is the Vivienne Westwood we’ve come to know and love. (Incidentally, which fashion philistine did not own a pair of Dame Viv’s flat strappy two-toned swashbuckling pirate booties in the Nineties?)

Vivienne Westwood delved deep into her archives to unearth all those iconic looks from the earlier collections (most notably Summer ‘98’s Tied To The Mast) with its pirate paraphernalia that have become synonymous with the brand. And it feels very reassuring and super comforting to all those millions of Anglomania-obsessed Viv fans to have this (almost) tribute collection after the woes of the past 24 months. I does feel as if we’ve all been at the mercy of the elements, on a tiny boat in the middle of the mighty ocean … but the seas might just be calming down!

A short video of the Spring/ Summer 2022 collection captures a set of tongue-in-cheek looks that are reminiscent of an era in fashion – the Nineties – when a brand like Vivienne Westwood could go to town with idiosyncratic trends and fans would be gagging for more. The quirkier the better! After 24 months of loungewear dominating looks (for obvious reasons) it is a delight to see all these wonderfully theatrical looks back on offer.

And you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! All the delicious characteristic Viv iconography was present in the SS 2022 collection: her beloved plaid, the lace-up bustieres, the low-crotch & side-button trousers, the striped neat little 9-5 midi suits with their draped skirts, the double denim ensembles, the sexy little tweed miniskirts, the tracksuits with their puff sleeves and logos, the cute sweetheart necklines, the Nineties-inspired body-con dresses and tops with their peek-a-boo openings, the boudoir corsets, the bedazzlingly elevated platforms (who, to this day, can see a Vivienne Westwood platform shoe and not have a Naomi Campbell catwalk flashback?), the strappy ballet-inspired platforms, the swashbuckle boots … and bags: plaid and logo-ed totes, miniscule plaid baglets … Utter deliciousness!

And what would a Vivienne Westwood collection be without hats? Oversized top hats, pirate hats, bucket hats … and let’s not forget the over-the-knee frilly and plaid socks!

Fresh-looking nautical rope patterns were knitted into jumpers, diagonal and vertical stripes were both oversized and subtle and houndstooth, tartan and plaid were to be seen in many ensembles and so was the iconic orb motif. Avast ye!

And one can’t write about Vivienne Westwood without mentioning one of her major quests: Dame Viv has been outspoken about saving the world and revolutionising the Fashion industry for years, well before others have caught on and yonks before ‘sustainability’ was a thing in the media. A proponent of ‘buy less’, ‘make your own’, recycle’ and the likes, this time her characteristic message is as clear as ever:

I have a plan 2 save. We don’t accept government destruction. Do what we say: “I demand government cooperation, Save Our Souls, SOS.” Stop Climate Change, Stop WAR. War production is the biggest polluter. Stop Arms production, Close the Factories, Stop Arms Sales!

-Vivienne Westwood, from the Press Release SS 2022

Are you taking heed? If not, walk the plank, Matey!