there's an exhibition on at san francisco's de young museum honoring the 36 years of innovative sartorial work by dame vivienne westwood, the famed british fashion designer and doyenne of punk rock fashion (meaning, for those not in the know, she's one of the creators behind that now ubiquitous costume). known for her racy, intelligent riffs on historical fashion, westwood has been behind many a trend in years gone by, like tubular knitwear, corsetry, platform shoes, and pirate looks, to name but a very few. the dame herself was in san fran this past weekend, to open the show and celebrate her body of work with local glitterati.
on sunday march 4th, vivienne spoke to the students at the academy of art university, and she gave advice to the fashion and art students that attend the school:
"If you want to be a fashion designer, don't look at fashion magazines. Don't care about them. Look at costume."
absolutely!! sound advice for aspiring fashion designers, miss viv...
and i'd suggest, sound style advice for "normal" folk too!
want to find your style center? keep your eyes open, be inspired by all that you see but don't let fashion mags or celebrities be the only source you turn to when you mold your style statements...
follow your inner muse, make your own interpretation! what comes from inside you may be even more amazing, and so much less derivative than unquestioningly accepting what's already around...and it could even be potentially groundbreaking.