Underwear as Outerwear

631 Words3 Pages
According to a 1991 Vivienne Westwood, a Queen of Punk, “Fashion is about eventually becoming naked.” She is a designer of punk rock and new wave, and the most influential British fashion designer of the late 20th century. Before the underwear as outerwear trend, Westwood shocked people by bringing punk culture to the British fashion’s mainstream. She made the most of British teenagers dressing in punk style. It was a phenomenon of punk on the streets of London. In 1980, the punk movement faded, Westwood started searching the history information for her new collection herself. She introduced the Buffalo Girls collection in 1982-83s. This collection was inspired by Peruvian women which was her research. She combined traditional tailoring with her brilliant idea to create petticoats, bowler hats worn with head scarves, featuring layered skirts and adapting bras to be worn over blouses. It was the beginning of the underwear as outerwear style. Nowadays, this style is a widespread fashion. Thus, Westwood’s designs encourage female sexual liberty rather than restraint. Vivienne Westwood took something that was formerly underwear and made it into outerwear, encouraging sexuality by putting what is typically private on display. Underwear is supposed to be worn under the other clothes because the purpose of underwear is to cover our private parts. To place Vivienne’s underwear as outerwear designs on the outside, it is to draw attention to something that’s supposed to be secret. For example, one of Westwood designs includes in the Buffalo Girls Collection (Autumn-Winter 1982-83), this collection included a shirt which was made out of what appears to be a bra and underwear with mesh gauze in between. This design places that which is private on display. It draws attention to female’s breasts and bottoms. Therefore, Vivienne expresses on this design that a female’s

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