Derbyshire’s own BOLD lady: Vivienne Westwood
“I think that you have to make a choice, and I think that at least 50% of the people in the world have never made a choice in their lives. I think that these same 50% of people have never acted, they’ve just followed their desire. They think they’re making a decision, they never did it, they just consumed." Vivienne Westwood in conversation with Dazed’s founder, on the topic of Boldness in 2007.
Photo not taken by Be Bold Be You
The more people I meet, through Be Bold Be You, the more I realise just how much the phrase “bold” isn’t just an adjective but it’s a verb - being bold takes effort. It takes time, patience & resilience along with a steady nerve. To use another quote from the Glossop born fashion icon “"I’m not terribly interested in beauty. What touches me is someone who understands herself." I could not agree more.
The sad passing of Vivienne Westwood has thrust her iconic brand into our scrolling fingers and I have to admit, I wish I’d had the opportunity to share a slice of cake or three with this iconic woman! For example, did you know her Autumn/Winter collection of 1982 (Buffalo Girls/Nostalgia of Mud) was the first collection to use underwear as outerwear, putting a 1950s style satin bra over a dress? Me neither! Apparently the now infamous bra is housed at the V&A Museum in London… She was, and still is, light years ahead of her time.
Talking about her work, Westwood said “I've constantly tried to provoke people into thinking afresh and for themselves, to escape their inhibitions and programming." Accepting a dame hood in 2006 was a well deserved achievement for the Derbyshire born innovator, however in interviews she seemed to invite those she was taking to to refer to her as “Vivienne”, showing her modest ways despite being given the title of Dame, reportedly accepting her award “knickerless”. The ethos of Be Bold Be You, along with mischievous ways, appears to be one that I feel Ms Westwood would have agreed with… At least I hope, anyway.
I could go on but, for now, I’ll leave you with a quote that I really believe can be transferred into our own UK based photographic portrait industry…
“I’m about designers wanting to make beautiful clothes at the right price. Then people can make a choice. That’s what I do. I’m here at this particular event to say the most important thing I’ve ever said about fashion: buy less, choose well, make it last.” For Westwood, character is like “a bag of tools.” And once you understand that it unlocks something quite overwhelming." Our industry has got some way to go to both understanding and valuing these tools but I know our work, at our humble boudoir studio right here in Westwood’s birthplace of Derbyshire, will be becoming even more influenced by this iconic Master as we go in to, 2023 at Be Bold Be You boudoir photography.
