The World Through Vivienne Westwood Eyes
Vivienne Westwood never strayed away from what she believed to be true. She marched to the beat of her own drum and left us inspired for five decades not only in the fashion industry, but in the beauty industry as well. Westwood’s punk approach to beauty voiced a unique perspective of how she saw people. She practiced a simple beauty routine herself. Vivienne was known to say “don’t wash too much” when it came to achieving her look. The exception to this was when it came to presenting herself supporting human rights. At the age of 72, she shaved her head in representation of how she felt politically about climate change.
Val Garland, a makeup artist, began working for Vivienne in 2006. Garland thought her first show for Vivienne would be the last. It is said that right before Garland’s first show working with her, Vivienne approached Garland and said that the makeup is too perfect and began to smudge and rub a lot of the makeup off. Garland, in response, thought “…she obviously didn’t like what I did, probably because it was too normal, it was too “makeup-y, it was too nice.” Nevertheless, Garland worked another show and approached it with a different perspective considering Vivienne’s feedback. She created a more childlike, messier look and Vivienne adored it. When questioned about her model’s makeup concepts she said, “It always feels like [the models] could’ve done it themselves. It always feels like kids in their mum’s dressing room with her lipstick. We have fun with it, we don’t take ourselves too seriously”.
People in Vivienne’s audience always expected the unexpected. In her S/S 11’ collection, Vivienne wanted the makeup to resemble horses, so Garland took inspiration from zebras, which is a type of horse. The models had black makeup all over the front of their face on top of their already white painted faces, done abstractedly, looking as if they had just stuck their faces in a pile of coal.
For her A/W 19’ collection, she wanted the makeup looks to make a stand of their own, protesting political situations. Makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench created looks that people either applauded or booed, but either way, left an impact. Models yelled phrases such as “tax the poor and give to the rich, that’s the lie with the long nose” while wearing prosthetic Pinocchio noses.
In Vivienne’s S/S 23’ collection, which turned out to be the final show she was under before she passed away in December of last year, she worked with Ffrench and hairstylist Charlie Le Mindu to bring 1920’s beauty to her models. The models had thin, skinny drawn-on brows, slick finger curls, and simple, clean makeup.
Vivienne was as down to earth as she was feisty. She saw a beautiful yet broken world that needed to be pushed. Her holistic and ethical perspective impacted more than the fashion industry. Her vision of peace was accomplished through her loud yet unspoken fashion statements.
