Vivienne Westwood took the London Fashion Week to present her Fall Winter 16 collection. The collection is a balance between the past and the future featuring bold prints, tartans, knitwear and elements of light.
FALL WINTER 2016 WOMENSWEAR COLLECTIONS
The renaissance and in particular 1400’s are a rich source of inspiration for the AW1617 Vivienne Westwood collection. This period fed into the silhouette, colour, and fabric choices. Two artists from the time also had an influence, the sculptor Donatello and the painter El Greco. These two artists affected different aspects; Donatello’s effortlessly draped statues directed some of the silhouettes and fluid elements in the collection. Rich colours from the El Greco paintings inspired colour and fabric choices. Vivienne was especially interested in the ‘glow’ which appears in his paintings, the colours are not solid or flat; they have an element of light…you can’t quite put your finger on them. In addition Vivienne was interested in creating a character;- ‘The joker’. This ‘joker’ can be seen as a manifestation of the media who play us for our souls. This image of the joker or a‘court jester’ is also a strong presence in medieval and Renaissance history. The ‘joker’ character can be seen in the collection through bold prints, tartans and in the knitwear. The collection has an underlying element of natural and rustic tones which are animated by vivid colours from the various prints and artworks (a very important print is the ‘Manhole’ print – Vivienne was initially looking for something to represent armour and these everyday objects found on every road, cast in heavy metal were perfect for this, bold colours were added to the composite artwork and add an element of the chaotic aspect of the Joker). The overall effect is of Drama and energy. Silhouettes are voluminous, sleeves are puff, lengths are often cropped, and dresses come draped and wrapped. There is opportunity for layering, matching, mismatching; dressing up! – from Vivienne Westwood
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All images courtesy of Vivienne Westwood
