Cover English designer Vivienne Westwood, who shook up the world of fashion, art and jewellery (Photo: Getty Images)
English designer Vivienne Westwood, who shook up the world of fashion, art and jewellery (Photo: Getty Images)
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From upcycling and making expensive paper jewellery to changing the way women wear corsets, here is how the punk queen Vivienne Westwood remains a formidable force in fashion even after her time
Broken glass, chicken bones, cowbells and scrunched-up Coca-Cola cans are hardly materials associated with high fashion. But not in Vivienne Westwood’s eyes. The English fashion designer and businesswoman forged a career defined by an innovative ethos where “trash” could be made into stunning statement pieces with personal meaning.
Dubbed the “mother of punk”, Westwood shaped the 1970s London punk subculture through rebellious designs and famously dressed the seminal punk band Sex Pistols. Between the 1980s and 2000s, she shifted from punk to historicism, pioneering modern reinterpretations of traditional garments. The designer was also an avid activist who used the runway as a platform for highlighting climate change, sustainability and human rights.
Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery is a recent comprehensive exhibition that charts her creative journey, showcasing four decades of her runway designs. Having started in 2025, the show is now on its Asian leg and opened this week at SJM Macau, the first stop in the South China region. The exhibition showcases about 600 exhibits divided across eight rooms. Themes range from punk origins to the ecological philosophy of “Do It Yourself” and an exploration of 18th-century parure.
Here are five iconic designs that changed the world’s understanding of high jewellery and fashion:
The reimagined corset
Above Corsets designed by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Corsets designed by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Westwood transformed corsets from a constraining garment to a symbol of female emancipation. Not only did she reimagine lingerie as outerwear and an art form with various prints and patterns; she also added zippers that allow women to independently wear the garment.
“Trash” jewellery
Above A necklace made with broken glass, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Above A safety pin with chicken bone, designed by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
A necklace made with broken glass, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Westwood encouraged people to be creative with everyday objects, a practice rooted in the punk movement. She turned quotidian materials such as cola cans, cardboard packaging, utensils and nuts into statement bracelets and necklaces.
Safety pins, first used in her London boutique, Sex, are now an essential part of the fashion house’s iconography.
Read more: Vivienne Westwood, the designer who made provocation an art form, has died
‘Broken Pearl’ necklace
Above Middle: ’Broken Pearl’, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Middle: ’Broken Pearl’, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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In the Storm in a Teacup collection, Westwood’s husband, Andreas Kronthaler, envisioned a chaotic scene where objects would shatter. This resulted in the “broken” pearl necklace, designed to look as though it had snapped, with pearls dangling elegantly as if falling off.
Papier-mâché jewellery
Above Papier-mâché tiara and earrings, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Papier-mâché tiara and earrings, by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Inspired by a 17th-century drawing for an expensive tiara, Westwood turned a paper draft into actual jewellery. Using only paper and glue, she created tiaras that served as a sarcastic contrast to typical high jewellery. In 2017, she famously wore a paper crown inscribed with “Ecotricity” at London Fashion Week to protest climate change.
Don’t miss: “Iceberg artist” Olafur Eliasson on his first solo show in Asia-Pacific and how art tackles climate change
Ghost frame earrings
Above Ghost frame earrings and tiara, designed by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Ghost frame earrings and tiara, designed by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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Westwood created earrings that contained only the metal frame, omitting the stones. These pieces are reminiscent of the 18th century, when royals fleeing the French Revolution would remove the diamonds from their tiaras to carry them easily, leaving the metalware behind. These “ghostly” frames carry the weight of that history.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
