Vivienne Westwood catwalk show report S/S 2014 for LFW

Vivienne Westwood’s catwalk shows are known to be frenzied, weird and wonderful; it’s best to expect the unexpected. Last year, none other than Heston Blumenthal graced the front row and the lady herself wore a T-shirt bearing the phrase “I am Julian Assange”. All very typical Westwood fare, of course. But would we expect anything less from the woman who has been the certified Queen of Brit fashion since the Neolithic age?

This year she certainly didn’t disappoint. There’s such variety at her shows that it’s proving a little difficult to review, it’s hard to know where to start – it’s as if she’d poured the entire contents of her brain into everything, down to the last hat.

The models wore a Miss Havisham-esque dishevelment, sort of like they’d been dragged through a hedge backwards – albeit a very fashiony one. Their faces were daubed with white and make-up looked as if it had been applied by a toddler (in a good way). They looked almost decayed, as if they’d been sitting on the same seaside deckchair in Ramsgate for a half a century.

The ever-present activist-ness was there, as was the Anglomania vibe in the form of distressed tartan. Digital floral prints were combined with heavy draping and strong lines – our favourite was a large, brightly coloured jumpsuit with contrasting floral hankies tied around the knees.

There was androgynous double-breasted silk tailoring, as well as a fierce black jumpsuit for evening, which was fitted and feminine. There were also some really wearable belted evening dresses and skirts in summer brights, which could be easily toned down if you didn’t want to do full-on Westwood.

At the end, a chiffon-clad Lily Cole – who, incidentally, actually performed an interpretive dance to kick off the show- bounded down the catwalk to hand the Queen of Wacky a bouquet, who sported an outfit a little more understated than her usual choices.

All in all it was a generally marvellous show, full of all her trademarks but not repetitive, highly original and very creative, as always. Top marks, Vivienne!

Kate Williams
Photos: Ambra Vernuccio