//Cover, Fashion: An Anthology catalogue, V&A, 1971//

//Frontispiece: a Beaton photograph of a model wearing a 1961 Balenciaga dress//

//Vern Lambert in Milan in the 80s. Photo: Alfa Castaldi//

My recent Rocketman post gave me cause to dig out my copy of the catalogue produced for the groundbreaking exhibition Fashion: An Anthology, staged by London’s V&A from October 1971 to January 1972.

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Tags: Adrian Emmerton, Alfa Castaldi, Anna Piaggi, Balenciaga, Cecil Beaton, Chanel, Charles James, Courrèges, Diana Crawshaw, Diane Saunders, Dior, Jane Mulvagh, Jim O'Connor, Karl Lagerfeld, Madame Grès, Pamla Motown, V&A, Vern Lambert, Vionnet

//Vivienne Westwood quoted on p85 of her new book written with Ian Kelly and published by Picador this month. This is also spoken in Westwood’s accent by the actress Paula Wilcox in the audiobook which has been published here and in the US//

//Westwood’s former partner Malcolm McLaren said this to me during a 1999 interview. Subsequently I quoted him on page 22 of my book The Look: Adventures In Rock & Pop Fashion, first published in 2001, second edition 2006//

Jenni Murray: You’ve said ‘clothes were politics long before fashion’. What did you mean by that?

Vivienne Westwood: I have no idea.

Jenni Murray: Was it something you said to Ian (Kelly) and now you’ve forgotten?

Vivienne Westwood: No…is that what it says in the book?

Jenni Murray: Yes

Vivienne Westwood: Well then, he might have got a misquote from somewhere.

Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, October 14, 2014

I respect Dame Vivienne Westwood’s achievements; she has been a significant figure in shaping our collective visual identity.

As someone who is driven to investigate and interpret visual culture, that is important to me. I dedicated a chapter and sections to Westwood’s contribution to fashion with and without Malcolm McLaren in the 2001 and 2006 editions of The Look: Adventures In Rock & Pop Fashion.

But she is ill-served by the sloppy new book Vivienne Westwood, recently published by Picador and written by actor/author Ian Kelly. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alain Dister, Anarchy In The UK, Barry Plummer, Bob Gruen, David Connor, David Dagley, David Parkinson, Ian Dury, Ian Kelly, Jane Mulvagh, Jenni Murray, John Lydon, Ku Khanh, Mary Shelley, Masayoshi Sukita, Norma Moriceau, Picador, Private Eye, Robyn Beeche, Vivienne Westwood, Woman's Hour