The late and eternally great Dame Vivienne Westwood frequently rejected the label of ‘icon’. On one occasion she even remarked how no one would remember her within a decade of her passing. On the contrary, Saturday’s show – the first Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood collection since the designer’s death in December – proved just how impactful her legacy of activism and provocation had been, and indeed would continue to be. 

Welcome to the wonderful, wild world of Westwood. The collection took us back to where it all started: Dame Vivienne’s roots in Tintwistle, the village the designer was born, in the sweeping dales of Derbyshire. Utilising deadstock antique fabrics (part of Westwood’s personal collection) FW23 rejoiced in familiar rebellion by revisiting a broad ensemble of archive-inspired looks. Most notably, the designer’s signature platforms, draped tartan and Harris Tweed that echoed earlier ‘Anglomania’ collections. Kronthaler gave renewed focus to Westwood’s favoured petticoats and the infamous ‘masturbation skirt’, alongside an array of boned corsets and bustiers, ruffled taffeta and the occasional pussy-bow. 

Blasting AC/DC’s T.N.T, the atmosphere felt both emotive yet overwhelmingly empowering. It was entirely appropriate for one of the fiercest, brilliant disruptors in fashion. She was dynamite personified. As the soundtrack shifted back to orchestral, Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corré closed the show in a white, lace-overlay corset, carrying a simple bouquet of white daffodils. Followed closely by Kronthaler, it was at this moment that the fantasy of the collection subsided for a second, and we were reminded that there remains a family, alongside an entire industry, still in mourning.