MFW: Shiver me timbers! It’s pirate season for Vivienne Westwood
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The Spring/Summer 2010 Vivienne Westwood Man collection on Sunday was ostensibly inspired by 1920s Hollywood and the early voyages of luxury ocean liners, but the show was only one eye-patch deep before it was clear Westwood was working a pirate vibe.
Not just pirates mind you; there were turban-wrapped ne’er-do-wells, men in Zorro masks and a cad or two that bore an uncanny resemblance to Heath Ledger’s Joker character from ‘The Dark Knight,’ complete with red grimace-enhancing face paint.
They were the latest in this season’s emerging crop of mercenary men, selfish sartorialists, guys in it for themselves, bucking the system and breaking the laws. But it didn’t click for me until the end of the day when the Versace collection drew inspiration from the Foreign Legion (a term which simply refers to troops who serve in the armed forces of foreign nations but conjures up the notion of operating primarily with self interest).
Bad boys + boats = pirates, and the nautical theme was hammered home with Westwood’s print-heavy collection that included anchor-patterned sweaters, Hawaiian prints and a skull-and-crossbones design with the slogan ‘Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die’ over which the words ‘Stop Climate Change’ were scrawled. (Great -- eco-pirates. I suppose they plunder your ship but bring their own recycleable bags.)
In the end, the look came across as less dangerous and more dandy thanks to the addition of some riotous footwear -- contrasting black-and-white polka dot and plaid saddle shoes. Try commandeering anything bigger than a dinghy in those kicks and I’m afraid you’ll need that eye patch.
-- Adam Tschorn
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More Photos from the Vivienne Westwood menswear Spring/Summer 2009 Runway Collection
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Photos: Looks from the Spring/Summer 2010 Vivienne Westwood Man collection shown on the Milan runway June 21, 2009. Credit: Peter Stigter.