I have always been so fascinated by fashion since I was a young girl. I remember I used to sit alone in the living room watching Fashion File or Video Fashion on T.V. Then, I would learn to pronounce and write the name of my favourite fashion designer's name, Vivienne Westwood correctly while everyone else was still pretty much clueless about who Vivienne Westwood is.
I watched many fashion shows on T.V but it was always her fashion shows that blew my mind away. Who can ever forget Naomi Campbell in a pair of 10-inch blue platform shoes catwalking at Vivienne Westwood's fashion show in 1993, then without everyone's expectation, she fell to her feet. At that moment, the fashion world watched her struggling to get on her feet again.
That incident didn't ruin neither the career of Naomi Campbell or Vivienne Westwood. In fact, it became the most remembered fashion show and the most glam catwalk accident ever documented. That is Vivienne Westwood for you, her fashion has always been so theatrical, dramatic and madly rebelous to the extent of being a bit too much to be stomached even by the most seasoned fashion critics.
Recently, an acquantance who used to work as a art director for a French publishing company which publishes magazines such as Elle France, told me that Vivienne Westwood's exhibition has been creating a life of its own at Thailand Creative and Design Center since 22 July and the exhibition will last until 27 Sept. 2006. The next thing I did was to make my way to the 6th floor of The Emporium shopping mall in Bangkok, where the exhibition has been taking place. After all, how often do we get to see her creations as close as the air we breathe?
I blithely walked into the heart of darkness where I heard Sex Pistols' song blasting out of the speaker near to the entrance. Her creations are displayed in chronological order with the very first collection of punk fashion created in 1971, which were sold at a shop called Let It Rock at 430 King's Road in London.
The mannequin on display is donned with Venus T-shirt and leather skirt elaborated with mockcroc, chains, zips, metal studs, rubber and even horse hair. There is a polished black board illuminated by dim spot light. On the black board is a description goes like this: Vivienne Westwood met Malcolm Mcleren in 1965, and their son Joseph Ferdinand Corre was born the following year. Their working relationship, which lasted from 1970 until 1983, launched Punk. Vivienne recalled, 'I felt there were so many doors to open, and he had the keys to all of them. Plus, he had a political attitude and I needed to align myself.'
As I moved forward a few steps to the right, what appeared before my eyes was a mannequin clad in a a T-shirt screen printed with a torn Jack Union flag on it. This infamous T-shirt was designed by Malcom Mclaren and Jamie Reid. It was worn by Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotton for the Sex Pistols' single called Anarchy in the U.K in 1976.
Of course, Vivienne Westwood is not just the inventor of Punk fashion, she is simply a natural born fashion revolutionary. Who else has the gut to convert Victorian crinolines into sexy yet childish mini-skirts and corsets into stylish outerwear if not Vivienne Westwood?
Inside the exhibition hall, there is a big screen constantly showing Vivienne Westwood's fashion shows, where models playfully catwalking down the fashion runway with attitude of celebration. Many of the clothes shown at the fashion shows are on display at the exhibition.
No doubt, I am a Vivienne Westwood's fan. Having said that, I still find it to be a bit outrageous just to visualize myself wearing the Lycra tights with fig leaf attached to the private area just like Adam and Eve. The trousers is called 'Man with No Trousers'. In fact, when she first did the fig leaf in 1989, she just kept screaming cos it was so porno and hilarously mad. Then, she got used to it and thought it looked so elegant.
As I scrutinized the Harris Tweed Jacket and the fig leaf tights worn by a headless mannequin, I just couldn't help myself but to laugh out loud. Vivienne Westwood has always stayed true to English tailoring especially traditional techniques as a starting point. At the exhibition, you can see some of the suits are so perfectly moulded to the bodies of the mannequins like second skin.
Of course, not to be missed are the 10-inch platform shoes on diaplay in the glass cases. For me, it was just so incredible to be there to marvel at the blue platform shoes that created fashion history of its own. I was there jotting down the details of some creations which I really adore until my pen went dried of ink that I had to borrow a pen from the security guard who was so smartly dressed in black suit. Of course, I was so fashionably dressed in a military dress that looks quite Vivienne Westwood. After all, I am a fashion writer or wannabe?!!
After spending more than an hour inside the exhibition hall, I decided to leave or else, I would start to plot a robbery. Yes, it did cross my mind. So, outside the exhibition hall, I was given a booklet of the exhibition. In the first page of the booklet are some inspiring words goes like this: 'Some people adapt themselves to the world, while others adapt the world to themselves. The world goes round because of the latter group'. After reading it, I smiled to myself cos I know I belong to the later group. Then, I signed the guest book with coloured pencils provided there. Thanks to Thailand Creative and Design Center for putting together such a great exhibition.
