Vivienne Westwood A/W 1993 ‘Anglomania’
Vivienne Westwood, a british fashion designer and social-environmental activist, is well known for her deep affiliation in punk culture, fascination towards European art and history, as well as her contribution in resolving global social-political and environmental issues. She often incorporates these aspects towards her collection, not just as a symbol of appreciation but as a political statement. In which embodied one of her most notorious yet impactful collections she has ever brought in her entire career of fashion, Anglomania.
The 1993 autumn winter Ready-to-Wear collection ‘Anglomania’, which was showcased in Paris Fashion Week, 16th of March 1993, was Westwood’s form of endearment towards European culture. “She presented a handful of ready to wear pieces that were heavily inspired by her affinity towards European Culture.” (“Anglomania 1993 — 1999”, 2018a, para. 15). The name of the collection truly represents the whole concept that Westwood presented. As translated by Stevenson and Waite (2011), “Anglomania is an excessive admiration of English customs.” The collection was heavily influenced by Scottish culture and the Elizabethan era silhouette.
The concept of Anglomania stays relevant in her current collection as well as the fashion world until today. Since it brought so many impacts towards her brand, reputation, and the global fashion trends itself. She successfully diffused Scottish traditional garments such as the kilt, tartan, and sporran, with 17th century British historic silhouette, such as the boned corset, and her iconic punk influenced pieces such as platform heels and safety pins piercings. All of which are a great influence for her present collections and the current fashion itself.
To give an example of how significant her impact is, the Scottish Lochcarron tartan that she used in the 1993 collection, received its own recognition. As mentioned in the Vivienne Westwood website (2018b),
“Vivienne channelled her creative nature into producing her own tartan for the ‘Anglomania’ Autumn-Winter 1993/94 collection and invented her own clan, MacAndreas. The Lochcarron of Scotland officially recognized the clan, which is a process that normally takes 200 years, a huge achievement for Vivienne. ” (Para. 4)
Now the McAndreas tartan can be acknowledged as one of her brand’s identities besides the Orb. It can be identified in most of her pieces and collections. For example, in several of her bag and wallet products, such as the Derby bag. As well as her present collections that took heavy inspiration from the iconic tartan, such as the Vivienne Westwood Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection. As discussed by Leitch, L (2022), “The neon-spiked tartan, for instance, was a version of the MacAndy pattern first used in her fall 1993 Anglomania collection.”
The idea of bringing back historical silhouette continues further into the present career of Vivienne Westwood. Westwood is now being renowned as unparalleled when it comes to corsetry. Chan (2021) stated that Olivia Singer, the British Vogue’s fashion news director has stated, “Vivienne Westwood is the OG of corsetry and, simply put, there is nobody who does it better.” She continuously takes inspiration from the 17th century until the 19th century European fashion as one of her silhouettes. One of the examples of how influential she is when it comes to transforming historic fashion into modern couture, is shown in the postponed 2021 Met Gala which was held in 2022. Themed as ‘the Gilded Age’, a lot of celebrities including SZA wore Vivienne Westwood to the annual event.
Additionally, Westwood has always been actively involved in punk culture. Despite the fact that the majority of Anglomania influences were coming from British culture, it didn’t stop her from corporating some punk inspired styles into the collection. Some of its pieces are being reinvented in her current collection. To give an example, safety pins that were being used as piercing in the 1993 collection, are now introduced as brooches in her Fall 2022 ready to wear collection. Not to mention her large involvement in bringing back punk inspired platform heels, she merged Scottish folklore dance shoes with extremely elevated platforms. It was the beginning of the comeback of modern platform heels. As mentioned by Pasori, C (2017),
“In the early ’90s, Vivienne Westwood brought the platform back into high fashion; one shoe in particular, the Super Elevated Gillie, paired a five-inch platform with nine-inch heels that Naomi Campbell was wearing when she fell on the runway in 1993.” (Para. 11)
Ever Since then elevated platform shoes are turning into a fashionable silhouette. They’re making a full comeback particularly in 2022. From high end luxury designer brands such as
Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Versace, up until fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara, platform heels are becoming part of essential silhouette in 2022. Furthermore, the elevated ghillies themself are now remodelled in the Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection. If it weren’t for Vivienne Westwood and Naomi Campbell’s iconic stumble in the runaways, it is hard to predict whether the unconventional platforms are making their comeback as a fashion statement in the 21st century.
It is undeniable that Vivienne Westwood is one of the most influential designers the world has ever known. Westwood’s dedication in her long career of fashion has brought many significant impacts towards the fashion industry, as showcased in one of her most memorable collections, the 1993 Autumn/Winter Ready-to-Wear, Anglomania. Which influenced not only the British fashion industry, but also the current global fashion states as a whole.
