The Aesthetic Qualities Featured in Vivienne Westwood's Works

비비안 웨스트우드(Vivienne Westwood)의 작품세계와 미적특성

This study will analyze the aesthetic qual-ities revealed in the work of Vivienne Wes-twood in order to gain an understanding of the development process and uniqueness of modern avant-garde fashion. Westwood gained worldwide recognition in the 1970s as the Punk movement emerged in London. Although her works have often been described as decadent and anti-establishment, her anarchic view of fashion has had a considerable influence on other designers, both in England and around the world. Vivienne Westwood's works can be divided into three periods. In the first period(1971∼78). Westwood design demonstrated elements which were variations of the subcultural Punk style. The noteworthy designs of this period included ripped T-shirts, bondage clothes, and fetishist accoutrements. In the second period(1979∼83), her designs expressed elements from ethnic and primitive tribal societies through the 'Pirate', 'Savages', 'Buffalo Girls', 'Witches' collections, which inspired New Romanticism movement. In the third period (1985∼ ), through works such as 'Mini-Crini'collection, her works identified elements from the old west and used materials such as crinoline and Harris tweed and contemporized them by rearranging the innovative technique. In the end the news synthesis helped formulate new ideas. The aesthetic qualities in Vivienne Wes-twood's works can bed identified with the following themes : Punkature, Erotic Intelligent-sia, Anarchic Collage. First, within Punkature, Westwood's ideas are at the forefront as her impact on the cut of clothes and creative detailing have been considerable. Also, while her ideas can be extreme, her clothes are wear-able, resulting in the synthesis of Punk and couture. Second, as Erotic Intelligentsia, Vivienne Westwood does not present sexuality as a straight forward attribute that fashion so often tends to do, but instead as a matter for inquiry, exploration and debate. She asserts that sexuality is always an interplay between the polarities of masculine and feminine, of dress and undress. Third, as Anarchic Collage, she has taken, juxtaposed, and transformed objects and symbols from dominant culture, like every modern subversive movement from Dada to Punk. She has continued this form of anarchic collage, mixing styles from various times and places, taking them out of their traditional context. From thiss viewpoint, Vivienne Westwood's works can be considered to be made up of past themes merged with is contemporary. The usage of contrasting elements such as Punk and couture to communicate her ideas visually or technically.