Framing Fashion: Art and inspiration from a private collection of Vivienne Westwood

2nd October 2024

The Bowes Museum is proud to be the only place to see a unique and striking mix of Vivienne Westwood clothing set alongside historical objects that showcase the cultural  influences she used when its newest exhibition Framing Fashion: Art and Inspiration from a Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood opens on Saturday, 19 October, 2024.

Fashion and art collide in a golden decade of design in this exclusive show which features some of the late designer’s most recognisable creations from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, loaned to the Museum in Barnard Castle from the private collection of Peter Smithson.

The exhibition, in the fashion and textile gallery, will explore the inspiration Westwood took from paintings, sitters in portraits and the materials and techniques used by artists, as well as examine how she reflected this in her pieces. 

The details in her work will be illustrated and referenced by items from The Bowes Museum’s collection, highlighting the inspiration the Grand Dame of Fashion took from the art and interiors of the Wallace Collection in London, which marked the mid-point of particularly creative period for the designer.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see historical men’s fashion from the Bowes’ collection, which is rarely on display.  This includes the opportunity to walk around an example of a man’s coat from 1765, the shape and decoration embellished Westwood’s Dangerous Liaisons jacket from her first menswear show, Cut and Slash (SS 1991).

They’ll also be able to see fashion that’s recognisable from period dramas on tv, like a silk and cotton Woman’s spencer jacket from 1820 , which  hasn’t been displayed before, and which complements Westwood’s tweed spencer jacket with matching culottes from Portrait (AW 1990/91).

Two 17^th century After Jan van Bijlert paintings of a Shepherd with a flute and Woman dressed as a shepherdess, which haven’t been shown before will come out of the Museum’s stores as they are similar to the artist Boucher’s pastoral paintings of the 1700s that inspired Westwood’s Portrait collection.

Visitors will also be able to see items from the Bowes’ collection that have been moved from their usual position to sit within the display because they highlight the exchange of ideas that Westwood used within her designs.  Chelsea Porcelain pot-pourri vases decorated with figures from the Commedia dell’Arte and Derby Porcelain candlesticks depicting Mars and Venus with Cupid complement Westwood designs featuring the instantly-recognisable checks worn by Commedia character Harlequin, and references to antique architecture and sculpture.

Museum founder Joséphine Bowes’ palette will be rehoused in this display.  As well as socialising with artists and being a trendsetting collector, Joséphine was an artist herself, with around 60 of her works in the Museum’s collection.  The figure of the artist was important to Westwood, who, as well as replicating and distilling their work on fabric, also applied their names to the garments they inspired, such as the Gainsborough blouse and Hals shirt.

The Museum has also teamed up with tutors and technicians from the Fashion Department at Northumbria University in Newcastle who have created digital deconstructions of Westwood’s painter’s smock (Salon, SS 1992) and Putti Stature of Liberty corset which will be shown near the garments, illustrating how they were cut from the fabric and stitched together to form the distinctive shapes.  In addition, samples showing Westwood’s corset manufacturing process and panels illustrating the way her Harris Tweed crown was cut out and stitched together will be displayed next to the items, as well as images of Westwood’s corsets and crowns in Vogue and i-D magazines.

This exhibition follows the success of A Collector’s Story: A Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood, which closed in May to critical acclaim.

Collector Peter Smithson said:

“I am delighted that The Bowes Museum is able to show this latest collection of pieces which highlight the homage Vivienne made to the work of Old Masters through her Portrait collection. The pieces displayed will explore the abstract ways Vivienne so wittily represented every aspect of what she observed, including inspiration and ideas she drew from alternative forms of creative expression. I hope the exhibition provides as much enjoyment for visitors as A Collector’s Story, and continues to pay an affectionate tribute to the irreplaceable Vivienne Westwood.”

Emma Jane Goldsmith, Assistant Professor of Fashion at Northumbria University added: “We were thrilled to be able to work on this exciting exhibition to help bring the pieces to life. The video highlights Vivienne’s approach to creative pattern cutting, and her ability to blend both historical and contemporary techniques and processes, to produce the iconic Westwood garments that continue to inspire creative practitioners today.”

Rachel Whitworth, The Bowes Museum’s Curator (Fashion and Textiles) continued:

“We are delighted to be working with Peter once again to showcase his fantastic collection alongside historic items from The Bowes Museum which illuminate Westwood’s artistic processes.  The addition of the work by Northumbria University will give visitors an insight into the design and making of some well-known Westwood pieces, and a sense of how they would feel to wear. We really hope that this show will not only inspire our visitors but also the fashion designers of tomorrow.”

Rachel will be giving a Curator’s introductory talk during the Spotlight Tours once a month for visitors to discover more about the exhibition at 11am on 7 November, 12 December 2024, 16 January and 20 February 2025.

Framing Fashion: Art and Inspiration from a Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood is open from 19 October 2024 until 2 March 2025.