There’s a certain Parisian chaos that only brews when a Vivienne Westwood show rolls into town. Guests had to weave their way through mass crowds to get inside Saturday’s show venue: some there to catch a glimpse of Doja Cat, the others making up a new generation of Westwood devotees.
Set inside a concert hall, where a circular stage occupied the centre, Andreas Kronthaler sent out a collection largely inspired by the book Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell. “John Donne understood that when we get dressed we ask something of the world,” wrote Kronthaler in his show notes.
The extravagance of the English renaissance poet fed into the collection, which included blazers and doublets with meaty shoulders, as well as corset tops for boys and multicoloured cardies. Most looks came anchored by mock-croc platforms which towered high – Westwood’s never been a fan of sensible shoe – and the whole thing was delightfully witty. Mustered-coloured woolly knickers worn over tights, for example. Or a LBD, worn by Irina Shayk, which bloomed with swaths of tulle, and a hole-y T-shirt with a portrait of Donne which had been faceswapped with Kronthaler. A lot of the pieces you see here were concocted from secondhand recycled pieces from the designer’s personal wardrobe, only adding to the show’s joyous nature.
Photography courtesy of Vivienne Westwood.