"Venus" T-shirt
Widely regarded as the most important British fashion designer of the twentieth century, Vivienne Westwood began her career in collaboration with Malcolm McLaren. The duo opened a London boutique in 1971, designing, producing, and merchandising their clothing with hands-on practices that exemplified the DIY ethos that would come to define the punk movement. The music-driven punk subculture, which prized ideas over beauty and action over convention, has had a unique and lasting influence on fashion. Between 1971 and 1979, Westwood and McLaren’s boutique assumed four different identities, exploring a series of looks and themes that together encapsulate the sartorial aspects of punk: bricolage, deconstruction, democracy, humor, and subversion. Among their earliest designs, the “Venus” T-shirt is a stylistic harbinger of punk and an exceptionally rare artifact. Although few examples were produced, Westwood wore the piece prominently, investing it with enduring iconographic value.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Venus" T-shirt
- Designer: Vivienne Westwood (British, 1941–2022)
- Designer: Malcolm McLaren (British, London 1946–2010 Switzerland)
- Retailer: Let It Rock (British, 1971–1972)
- Date: 1971–72
- Culture: British
- Medium: cotton, tin, brass, horsehair, rubber
- Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.1
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Multiple artists/makers
1978
Multiple artists/makers
1976
Vivienne Westwood
Malcolm McLaren
1981
Vivienne Westwood
Malcolm McLaren
1982
Multiple artists/makers
1977
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