SHE'S the grande dame of British fashion whose love of Scottish herit-age shines through in her designs, so it's really rather surprising that it has taken so long for her to open a shop in Scotland. But for Vivienne Westwood fans north of the Border, the wait is now over – her first Scottish shop opens in Glasgow's Princes Square today.
Yesterday afternoon, all on the shopfloor was chaos as builders frantically tried to finish the interior in time for the opening. Huge black-and-white canvases depicting models in Westwood's designs hang on the walls; display units rest upon gold hoo
ves, with the signature golden orbs on top.
Stock is being unpacked from boxes, allowing us a glimpse into what the most fashionable Scots might be sporting this autumn – an oversized bowling bag, a gathered tartan skirt and a pair of pillar– box red heels. Outside, curious shoppers peer in through the windows.
"I'm so excited – I'll be first in the queue," says Laura Donnelly, a local shop assistant. "I love Westwood, her stuff is really unique. People in Glasgow like to dress individually and her designs are perfect for that. A lot of her stuff is quite affordable, too. The accessories are great; I'm going to look for a new handbag tomorrow."
Laura's not the only one who will be queuing up today. According to Erin Scott, the store's manager, there has been a steady buzz surrounding the opening since the shopfitting began. "I've had everyone from 14-year-old girls to women in their seventies chapping on the door to see when we're opening," she says.
So which designs does Erin think will be most popular with Westwood's new Scottish customers? She says: "We have a great little tartan mini-skirt at £180, which I think will fly off the shelves."
Tartan has always featured in 67-year-old Westwood's portfolio. She regularly draws on Scottish heritage for inspiration and many of her designs evoke a sort of punky, eccentric Highland laird. She uses tartan, Harris tweed and pheasants' feathers, pairing them with ruffled blouses, batty hair and white-powdered skin.
"Tartan looks wonderful with everything – even other tartans," she has said. "It's a heroic image, the kilt flying and the idea of climbing mountains in this garb, with the wind blowing at you."
Lindsay West, fashion editor at The Skinny magazine, thinks the shop will thrive: "Scots, particularly Glaswegians, love to dress up and they're not afraid to spend a bit of money. There are a lot of creative people in Glasgow and a thriving arts scene, so Westwood's avant garde style will go down well here.
"Vivienne Westwood is an innovator and a businesswoman – she knows how to give her clients exactly what they want. She has stuck to a recognisable style, yet she's constantly adapting. Her designs are such that diehard fans can wear them head to toe, while others can just wear a bag or a scarf."
Westwood has more than one trick up her balloon sleeve, though. She set up her first shop, Let It Rock, on the King's Road in London in 1971, with her then-boyfriend Malcolm McLaren; the pair were largely responsible for the punk aesthetic of the 1970s: safety pins, razor blades, bike chains, spikes, rubber, ripped fabrics and pornographic imagery screen-printed on to T-shirts. Her creations have never lost that punky edge, but have incorporated classical and traditional influences, from camp pirates to 18th-century corsets and crinolines.
The designer has always courted controversy, and remains a rebel with a number of serious causes, her latest being the plight of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay (she sent models down the catwalk at London Fashion Week in February wielding placards that read "Fair trial my arse!"). She famously went knickerless to Buckingham Palace to collect her OBE in 1992, and again when she was made a Dame in 2006 by the Prince of Wales.
Her designs have legions of celebrity fans, from Gwen Stefani to Kate Moss. Supermodel of the moment Agyness Deyn has even confessed to doing her housework in Westwood's notoriously high platforms, in an attempt to practise walking in heels (something Naomi Campbell evidently failed to do before heading down Westwood's catwalk in a pair of nine-inch heels in 1994 and famously toppling over in front of the world's press).
With the opening of the Glasgow store, perhaps it won't be long before we see style-conscious Scots teetering along in tartan, tweed and terrifyingly-high Westwood platforms.
Just watch your ankles on those cobblestones, girls…
The full article contains 767 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
