Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes under the hammer - both online and in London

Ever wondered what it would be like to glance over and pick out an item from the personal wardrobe of one of the most influential designers of all time?

Well, your time has soon come.

The personal wardrobe of the late British icon and mother of punk fashion, Vivienne Westwood, will go under the hammer at Christie’s this summer.

More than 200 lots have been consigned, spanning four decades, and the sale is led by Westwood’s husband and design partner, Andreas Kronthaler.

Part of the sale proceeds will go towards Westwood’s own charity (The Vivienne Foundation), Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection will be presented at two auctions: a live sale taking place in London on 25 June and an online auction (14-28 June).

In a statement released with the announcement, Kronthaler referred to his late wife as a “genius” and added that she “was a rebel, an outsider who had a calling to be different, to explode the system. She was an original thinker. Vivienne was our heroine.”

Adrian Hume Sayer, head of sale at the auction house added that “the pre-sale exhibition and auctions at Christie’s will celebrate (Westwood’s) extraordinary vision with a selection of looks that mark significant moments not only in her career, but also in her personal life. This will be a unique opportunity for audiences to encounter both the public and the private world of the great Dame Vivienne Westwood and to raise funds for the causes in which she so ardently believed.”

The auctions will showcase some of the most iconic looks she created and wore during the last four decades of her life. They contain garments, shoes, and jewellery — the earliest piece included in the sale originating from the Witches collection for Autumn/Winter 1983/84, which was inspired in part by witchcraft, as well as Keith Haring’s graphic code of magic symbols.

And for those who don’t have the funds to bid (we feel your pain), there’s always the comfort that a free public exhibition showcasing the collection is taking place at Christie’s HQ alongside the auction from 14-24 June.

Westwood protesting – 2013 John Stillwell / PA

Earlier this month, a series of playing cards designed by Westwood to raise awareness about environmental and political issues were announced to go up for sale to raise funds for Greenpeace.

Before her death in December 2022, the fashion designer conceived the idea – “The Big Picture – Vivienne’s Playing Cards” – which takes 10 of her digital graphics which highlight messages close to her heart and sees them printed on large-scale autographed cards.

John Sauven, former executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Vivienne was well known as a rebel for most of her life but rarely without a cause. For Vivienne, activism was her life.”

He continued: “Vivienne has left us the playing cards, an important work of art, that enables her ideas to live on in all of us.”

Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection live sale takes place at Christie’s London on 25 June, with an online auction taking place alongside from 14-28 June.