A close encounter with Vivienne Westwood
HONG KONG — What true fashionista doesn’t revere the grandmother of British fashion, Dame Vivienne Westwood, whose 40-year career covers everything from punk in the ‘70s to haute couture in the Naughties?
I was in Hong Kong recently to cover a beauty event. But as luck would have it, I was invited to a press preview of Dame Westwood’s retrospective entitled, “A Life In Fashion.”
Sponsored by Swire Properties, the exhibition marked the opening of Artis Tree, a multi-purpose venue dedicated to the visual and performing arts.
Swire Properties collaborated with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) to bring the retrospective to Hong Kong, perhaps to attract a new kind of audience to the industrial area known as Quarry Bay.
The location was not the easiest to find. From Tsim Sha Tsui, a friend and I hopped on a cab to rush to TaiKoo Place on Hong Kong island.
Cocktails were supposed to start at 1:30 p.m. and the press conference at 2 p.m. Due to heavy traffic, my friend and I made it at 2:15 p.m., in time to catch Dame Westwood answering questions from the local media.
After the Q&A, we were led into the exhibit area where the legendary designer stood on a podium, in front of a collection of her modern corsets.
A small woman with fiery orange hair and a temperament to match (so I heard), Dame Vivienne was quite a sight in a braided black and white dress, printed stockings and high heels. She is simply the best-dressed 68-year-old woman I have ever seen.
After a brief speech, we were invited to roam through the 20,000-square-foot space. Photographs were allowed, providing there was no flash.
I documented the exhibit using my Sony Ericsson C905, a five-megapixel camera phone that works well without a flash as long as there’s sufficient lighting.
I started with the punk pieces featuring images of the Queen with the Union Jack, popularized by the Sex Pistols.
For the first time I laid eyes on actual pieces from the Buffalo Gals collection I tried very hard to emulate in the mid-‘80s.
There were classic Sherlock Holmes check pieces that reminded us of the Thai label Sretsis, as well as drapy suits and dresses that have influenced Filipino designer Mich Dulce — evidence that Vivienne Westwood continues to inspire young designers worldwide.
We ended with the fabulous ballgowns, I can’t imagine how many meters of fabric were used, and of course the final image of Dame Westwood herself with her fingers held up in a “V” and “W” to cover her face.
Catch it if you can.
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The exhibit runs through January 31, 2009 (including Christmas and New Year public holidays) at Artis Tree, 3/F Cornwall House, TaiKoo Place, Swire Island East and is open for free to the public.
