Clothes and jewellery from the personal wardrobe of the late legendary fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood are being sold at auction to raise money for good causes she supported.
More than 200 lots from long flowing ornate silk gowns to knitwear and accessories will go under the hammer at Christie’s across two sales. Among them are dresses from one of her earliest collections, Witches, which was released in the autumn/winter of 1983-84 and inspired by artist Keith Haring’s use of magic symbols. Designs from her Propaganda collection of autumn/winter 2005-06 are also available.
They have all been chosen by her husband Andreas Kronthaler and will be sold in London on June 25 and in an online auction that will run from June 14 to 28 with the proceeds going to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and The Vivienne Foundation, which was set up after her death in 2022.
The foundation said: “Her deep interest in intellectual and political ideas informed her natural skill in fashion design, where she became one of the very few true originators.”
There will also be a free public exhibition at Christie’s King Street HQ from June 14 to 24.
Adrian Hume Sayer, director of private and iconic collections for Christie’s, said: “Vivienne Westwood’s sense of activism, art and style is embedded in each and every piece that she created. The pre-sale exhibition and auctions will celebrate her extraordinary vision with a selection of looks that mark significant moments.
“This will be a unique opportunity for audiences to encounter her public and private worlds and to raise funds for the causes in which she so ardently believed.”
It comes after an announcement this month that Christie’s will also auction a series of playing cards designed by Westwood to raise funds for Greenpeace. These limited edition cards will be sold in a portfolio which contains 10 digital prints with an estimate price of £30,000 to £50,000.
The designer, who was born in 1941, is largely accepted as being responsible for bringing punk and new wave fashion into the mainstream with her eccentric designs. Her dresses were regularly worn by high-profile individuals including Dita Von Teese, who wore a purple Westwood wedding gown to marry Marilyn Manson, and Princess Eugenie, who wore three Westwood designs for various elements of the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
