The British fashion house Vivienne Westwood exhibited her Spring-Summer 2022 line digitally through an amazing video. The idea behind the collection, entitled “Save Our Souls”, is a shoutout to governmental cooperation and a cry for environmental help. The outfits reflect a maritime aesthetic and pay tribute to Vivienne’s 1998 Summer collection “Tied To The Mast”. A modern, sustainable lineup with lots of reds, blues, and whites presented on a nautic-themed scenario, it is a must-see!

Vivienne Westwood began her designing career in 1971 together with her former partner Malcolm McLaren, but it was not until 1976 that the couple would define the street culture of Punk. Their changing ideas of fashion lead Vivienne to become a British avant-garde symbol. Her first runway presentation took place at Olympia in London and it was the Autumn-Winter 1981. The designer started using British fabrics and art from the 17th and 18th Centuries as inspiration. By that time, she had also implemented the traditional Savile Row tailoring technique. Vivienne met Andreas Kronthaler in 1989, and he later became not only her husband but also the label’s Creative Director as well as her design partner. A Vivienne Westwood retrospective exhibition – the largest one devoted to a living British fashion designer – was hosted by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, in 2004, in celebration of her 34 years in the fashion industry. Westwood was appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in 2006, as Dame of the British Empire. In 2007, she received the “Outstanding Achievement in Fashion” award, granted by the British Fashion Awards. The label is about much more than just producing clothes and accessories, which makes it one of the world’s last independent global fashion companies. With a career of over 40 years, Vivienne Westwood is now recognized as one of the most influential fashion designers as she continues to innovate and bring awareness to human rights and environmental issues through her eponymous global brand.

For her Spring-Summer 2022 presentation, Vivienne brought a maritime collection entitled “Save Our Souls”, a manifesto demanding governmental help with environmental protection. Following up a trend spotted during New York Fashion Week, Westwood portraited a collection that reflects an apparently common theme for a few of the latest fashion shows: water. This line was inspired by the sea as well as by Vivienne’s Summer 1998 collection, called “Tied To The Mast”, one of her personal favorites. Lately, the designer has been seeking inspiration for her season’s drops from her most memorable collections dating from other decades. Vivienne Westwood has unexpectedly caught the attention of current fashion celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian, who seem to be crazy about the label’s pieces from the 1990s, especially the corsets.

Moreover, this collection began from looking back at English Couturier Redfern’s popular yachting tailorings, added by the idea of English pirates fantasy, and imagining Queen Elizabeth I’s age, and the Europe where she came from. On Vivienne’s voice, “I was tied to the mast and the clothes underwent a sea change. On a sailing ship when the tempest arose, everything had to be tied down or be washed away”. This lineup emphasizes Vivienne’s ability to freshen up her historical designs, ensuring pieces don’t feel antique and meet the 2021 customer. We can also notice the 1998’s sailor knot motive, now laser printed onto denim. Even the classic corsets now came enclosed into slinky, figure-hugging dresses added by cut-outs placed perfectly.

According to the brand’s press release, this is a “lovely efficient collection reduced to its minimum but containing everything you need”. This Spring-Summer line was envisioned using important environmental practices such as recycling of materials, reusing waste, eco-friendly fabrics, and choosing special wool from regenerating farming, as Vivienne’s idea was to incentivize customers to “buy less, choose well, make it last”. Observing Westwood’s commitment to sustainability, the show notes came accompanied by an environmental-friendly dossier. As stated by this document, 98% of the materials used for this line are cruelty-free and low-impact, no virgin synthetic fibres were used, and the wool came from a farm that pays attention to the welfare of the sheep and the soil’s health. Besides, fabrics were commissioned and coordinated to reduce the collection’s carbon footprint to the minimum.

Vivienne’s Spring-Summer 2022  collection was unveiled during London Fashion Week, on Friday, September 17th. Pieces in the line have bizarre silhouettes inspired by 16th Century pirates, with chunky, oversized diagonal nautical stripes present in knits, rope prints on tops and skirts to sculpt body curves, an asymmetric style – Vivienne’s signature for tailoring -, and detachable-sleeves added to corsets. What a great collection!

Published by HOLR Magazine.