Vivienne Westwood S/S 2018

Scene setting: The scene of this season’s men’s shows has had an athletic twist, Martine Rose using colourful rock climbing walls as the backdrop to her catwalk show, and Kent & Curwen assembling its models together as if they were sitting for a sporting team photograph. For its S/S 2018 show, Vivienne Westwood chose the Seymour Leisure Centre as its location, an apt venue considering the energy with which Westwood’s and her husband and designer partner Andreas Kronthaler's band of models danced, cartwheeled and sashayed down the catwalk.
Mood board: The collection was an energetic celebration of all things Westwood – historic silhouettes, tailoring, tartans and majestic crown headwear. A male model strode the catwalk in a shiny black floor-length dress with a deeply exposing V-neck, while a female model turned ballet dancer performed in point shoes and a white lace dress, cut using Westwood’s famed body-cinching precision. Vivienne Westwood has always been a strong supporter of environmentalism, a stance even more potent since Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to pull America from the Paris agreement. Her position against climate change (one often explored readily in her collections) came in water bottles and detritus attached the legs of models, prints featuring doodles of the word ‘economy’ and vast cash sums, and a sweater stamped with a muddied footprint.
Best in show: Vivienne Westwood voiced her support for Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who emerged seemingly victorious from last week’s General Election in the UK, despite not winning. Westwood, too, appeared victorious, appearing on the cawalk in a wildly Instagrammed moment, on the shoulders of a made model, clad in an ace of spade print vest, white doodled leggings, platforms and a wonderfully triumphant expression.
Vivienne Westwood S/S 2018. Photography: Jason Lloyd Evans
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTi
Peugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
-
This 18th-century Puglian villa has been restored with contemporary touches
The updated stonemason's workshop is a haven of centuries-old brick and sophisticated made-in-Italy design
-
Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind café
Wallpaper* takes a tour of the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up in London’s Soho, which celebrates the launch of a new ‘re-edition’ accessories collection spanning the greatest hits from the Japanese artist’s long-running collaboration with the house
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
As A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine Rose
Though slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft Week
During London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
-
V&A spotlights the sartorial and social significance of the kimono
For the latest endeavour of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk explores the evolution of the iconic Japanese garment
-
Erdem A/W 2020 London Fashion Week Women's