On the pleasure pier

Vivienne Westwood MAN SS15 preview
By Tempe Nakiska | Fashion | 21 June 2014
This article is part of Fashion Week – London, Milan, Paris, NYC

Vivienne Westwood MAN SS15 mood board

Vivienne Westwood MAN is turning back time this season, looking to the pixelated acid graphics of 70s arcade games for inspiration. It’s not so much musty old entertainment halls as it is salt-aired pleasure piers by the seaside – think pixel block tartans, raw edges and fringing. According to Andreas Kronthaler, we should also look out for a blast from the past in the form of archival bondage pieces…

Vivienne Westwood MAN SS15

“For this collection we began with images of childhood seaside holidays on the British coastline,” says Kronthaler. “We started to look at the similarities between the pixelated graphics of late 70s arcade games played on the pleasure pier and Native American art. The pixelated patterns and acid colours reminded us of something tribal, a little Native American, so this gave us another avenue to explore.

We combined pixel block tartan prints and jacquards, crystallised tartans and needle punch techniques with linear prints and dancette lines in knits and fil coupe shirting. There are star tooth prints and weaves, embellishment and beading, raw edges and fringing.

Pixelated tartan and checks in acid tones, a shredded wool fringed jacket. Some archive bondage pieces found their way into the collection, reminding us of certain details applied in Native American tribal wear and also a nod to the first appearance of this trouser during the 70s.

It’s incredibly important to incorporate politics into our work. For this show we are supporting the Pig Pledge which is a campaign to encourage people not to buy or eat factory farmed meat. Vivienne and I are both vegetarians but we are urging people who do eat meat to always find out where it is being sourced and to avoid meat from animal factories.”

Vivienne Westwood SS15 shows in Milan tomorrow, Sunday 22nd June. Stay tuned to HERO for full fashion week coverage from London, Florence, Milan and Paris




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