Object: Dress
Designer:
Vivienne Westwood
(British, 1941 - 2022)
Date: Fall 1988
Medium: Silver and pink leather, white silk tulle, and silver synthetic lamé
Country: England
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Object number: P89.60.1
Descriptiontwo-piece "Stature of Liberty" dress, corset in silver leather with pink leather sash attached at side seam, and coordinating mid calf length full skirt with pannier effect in sheer white tulle over silver metallic synthetic lamé underskirt
Label Text:Vivienne Westwood’s studies of 18th-century fashion inspired her “Statue of Liberty” ensemble, which recontextualized the corset from underwear to erotically-charged outerwear. Westwood’s leather bodice pushes up the breasts–as did boned stays–while the shape of the skirt resembles the look of panniers (side hoops). This ensemble is from Westwood's "Time Machine" collection.
Exhibitions:
- 50 Years of Fashion, 1947 - 1997
- The Corset: Fashioning the Body
- Seduction
- Fairy Tale Fashion
- Vivienne Westwood 1980-1989