Vivienne Westwood: Designer in Focus
18 April 2025 – October 2026
Vivienne Westwood: Designer in Focus is a new display celebrating the groundbreaking fashion designer’s remarkable career spanning over five decades. This showcase brings together a collection of Westwood’s revolutionary designs, from her punk beginnings to her status as a British fashion icon.
Located in the Craft & Design Gallery, the display features key pieces from Westwood’s most influential collections, including rare items from her collaborations with Malcolm McLaren during the early 1980s. Visitors will discover how Westwood’s creative vision evolved from the punk aesthetic of their Kings Road shop SEX to her later explorations of historical dress, global cultures, and classic British tailoring.
Highlights include a grey wool ‘Koo tunic’ from the Witches Collection (1983-84) featuring artwork by Keith Haring, the iconic ‘Dunbar Suit’ in pink Gordon tartan from the Anglomania Collection (1993-94) once worn by Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Holly Johnson, and a black velvet suit from the Time Machine Collection (1988-89) gifted by Liverpool-born model Julie Bramwell.
The display showcases Westwood’s remarkable versatility and her ability to draw inspiration from diverse sources, from 18th century French art to Native American design elements, while maintaining her distinctive, boundary-pushing approach to fashion.
Caption: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Further information:
- Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
- Entry is free; there is a charge for some exhibitions
- Location Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EL
- How to get there By train: Liverpool Lime Street – Wirral and national services, Moorfields station – Northern line services (Southport – Hunts Cross), Liverpool Central – Wirral and Northern line services; By car: the Walker is in the city centre, close to the entrance to the Queensway Tunnel and Lime Street Station – follow the directions to Liverpool Lime St station where there is a car park just opposite the Walker Art Gallery in William Brown Street; By bus: nearest bus stations are Queens Square bus station and Liverpool One bus station
- Further information 0151 478 4199
