As the collection of the late designer Dame Vivienne Westwood comes up for auction at Christies, Irish designer Rory Hutton remembers interning with her one summer…
I’m no punk, but Vivienne Westwood was one of the biggest influences on my career. As Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection goes under the hammer at Christie’s London this week, I am reminiscing about the summer of 2008 when I had the privilege of being one of Westwood’s interns.
At 20-years-old, I remember being struck by the normalcy of this superstar designer as she walked through the studio. When I saw her in action, pinning on models and giving directions I knew that I was watching an icon at work, something I am still so grateful to have witnessed.
Westwood had an ability to take inspiration from history and reinterpret it in spectacular and unexpected ways. She had a curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, which made her a master of her craft. I have always been drawn to the decorative arts, but it wasn’t until that summer under Westwood’s guidance that I really found “my era” – the 18th century. Westwood encouraged her interns to visit the Wallace Collection and write a report on an object or artwork which they found inspiring. She believed the Wallace Collection was the “greatest art school in the country”.
I had never visited the museum before, but that first afternoon I was transported into the extraordinarily opulent world of Sèvres porcelain, Madame de Pompadour, and Marie Antoinette. Something made sense to me in those gilded rooms, a feeling of sanctuary. These muses, first introduced to me by Westwood have stayed with me ever since.
So enamoured was I with the museum’s impressive collection of Sèvres porcelain that I later became a member of the French Porcelain Society and my Masters thesis examined the display of French porcelain in the home.
In 2018, exactly ten years to the month after my first visit, I was invited to collaborate with the Wallace Collection on silk scarves and ties inspired by Louis XIV. A perfect full-circle moment which I could not have dared to imagine ten years earlier. I gushed about Westwood at my first meeting and how the Wallace Collection had become my spiritual home.
Since this first project, I have worked with the museum on a crowdfunding campaign to restore two paintings by Canaletto, as well as designing a Marie Antoinette scarf and most recently two scarves inspired by eighteenth century dogs for their exhibition Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney.
In 2021, the French Porcelain Society invited me to design a scarf for Madame de Pompadour’s 300th birthday (pictured above). A devoted disciple of Pompadour ever since I first heard Westwood describe her as one of the greatest patrons of the arts that ever lived, I couldn’t have been more delighted. The scarf was launched to coincide with the release of society president Dame Rosalind Savill’s book, Everyday Rococo: Madame de Pompadour and Sèvres Porcelain. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Dame Rosalind Savill had been the director of the Wallace Collection when I first visited and fell in love back in 2008.
When my summer internship ended, I left Westwood to head back to Limerick School of Art and Design for my final year, and I was gifted this seersucker jacket, which I have pulled from the depths of my wardrobe for this photograph. I remember it retailed at £510, a princely jacket for an art student who made their own clothes or found them in charity shops! I wore this jacket to death throughout my early 20s, every wedding, christening, graduation or any dress up opportunity. I even washed it in the washing machine rather than spend on dry cleaning! The result is a rather shabby but highly sentimental jacket that will always hang in my wardrobe but probably won’t attend another wedding.
The badges were another gift during my time with Westwood. I particularly loved wearing the “I am expensiv” design. A great conversation starter, it amused people who would frequently interact with me on the tube on account of it! Today, it sits on my dressing table and never fails to make me smile, thinking of that summer in London.
Westwood’s influence on my practice was not loud or rebellious; instead, she introduced me to a rich seam of culture and inspiration, which I have no doubt will be with me always. Thank you, Dame Vivienne.
My top five lots from Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection as follows:
The sale at Christie’s spans 40 years of Westwood’s personal wardrobe, including clothes, jewellery, headpieces, and other accessories. I particularly enjoyed reading the inventive names of the collections from which each garment came, some of my favourites are: Storm in a Teacup, Rock Me Amadeus, World Wide Woman and Cut, Slash & Pull. These evocative names make me want to get creative in the studio.
Lot 23: Vivienne Westwood, ‘Five Centuries Ago’ Collection, Autumn-Winter 1997/98. A black and gold ‘brocade’ pattern knitted dress, €1,500-2,100.
Glamorous, golden, and fit for a queen today or five centuries ago. It’s iconic!
Lot 104: Vivienne Westwood, ‘Dressing Up’ Collection, Autumn-Winter 1991/92. A faux fur leopard print swing coat, €1,800-2,900.
Who doesn’t love a bit of Beth Lynch realness? I adore the oversized print, and the name of the collection is wonderful.
Lot 112: Vivienne Westwood, ‘Cafe Society’ Collection, Spring-Summer 1994. A pair of pale green enamel and gilt ‘orb’ clip-on earrings, €350-600.
You can’t have a Vivienne Westwood edit without a nod to the orb. This historic emblem of royal power and prestige is now forever connected to her eponymous brand.
Lot 148: Vivienne Westwood, ‘La Belle Helene’ Collection, Spring-Summer 1999. A grey pinstriped wool ‘amphora’ jacket and skirt. €830-1200.
Oversized, draped, and feminine, Westwood’s approach to traditional tailoring was original and genius.
Lot 151: Vivienne Westwood, Circa 1990, a faux pearl ten-row choker, €830-1,200.
I love pearls, especially worn en masse. This choker puts reminds me of one of my favourite portraits of Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen.
Need to Know: “Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection” takes place across a live auction (Part 1) on June 25, with an online sale (Part II) running until June 28. The sale will raise funds for the causes Vivienne supported throughout her life, with proceeds going to support The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace www.christies.com. Follow Rory on Instagram @roryhuttonldn.
