The Idea behind the Project

Dame Vivienne Westwood was a fashion designer based in England. She is remembered for her influence on the 1970s UK punk scene, together with her business and life partner Malcolm McLaren, fashion designer and founder of the Sex Pistols music band. Vivienne Westwood’s impact on modern culture is immense and varied. She was indeed a fashion designer, but this triple statement is not exhaustive enough. Vivienne was also an activist, a writer, an inspirational figure and trend setter. Her heritage is not only made up of clothes. She inspired and was inspired by art.

The selected items aim at providing a small representation of the web of cultural items related to her at various levels. The item research focused on cultural objects physically held by cultural heritage institutions, therefore focusing on the actual item level rather than the work level. The cultural objects of the collection come from London based cultural institutions, in particular the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Wallace Collection and the National Portrait Gallery. The library items have been selected from italian librarian institutions, such as Biblioteca Sala Borsa in Bologna, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome and the IUAV library in Venice.

Mapping the Idea