About
Professional

Vivienne Westwood
Rebrand

Project by:
Andrea Egidi
Kang Yeh Lee
Lectures: December 2017 - April 2018
Project: April - May 2018
Aalto University with
Chris Vidal Tenomaa
and Tuomas Laitinen
The story

Vivienne Westwood has a unique story and style; it used to be the outbreaking-the-rules high fashion brand that had brought the punk into the parisienne haute couture in the 80s. She started to be involved in fashion in the 70s while the punk movement took all over the United Kingdom; she was for sure one the protagonists of this style revolution. At the time she was running the clothing shop in 430th King Road in London owned by herself and his boyfriend and inspiration source Malcom McLaren. The shop had change many names through the time, from "Let It Rock", "Too Fast Too Live, Too Young Too Die", "Sex" to the nowadays "World's End". Even though all the names the place has been revolutionary, disruptive and groundbreaking since ever. People used to and still do buy the garments that recall the punk (provocative prints, safe pins, ripped, leather goods and so on.) Vivienne took part to revolts and she used to make clothes for the Sex Pistols, the British punk rock band. In 1981 the brand was established and the Queen of Punk conquered everyone's attention in Paris with her first high couture line "the Pirates." The collection was romantic and fantastic taking inspiration from a fairytale story of pirates. That wasn't punk though. The post-punk influence is inevitable but the punk stays in the brand of only as design attitude. Vivienne Westwood is in this way historical, the lines projects us mainly to the past of the victorian England, graphic, handwrites and messy calligraphy expressing strong political and provocative messages, and "punk" in the attitude and messages. Nowadays the brand is not revolutionary to people as it used to be, stuck in the golden ages and in the punk image.
The problem

The rebrand is only on the artistic level, so it was taken in consideration the way of advertising, styling, designing and expressing. Vivienne looks terribly tired of designing but she is really active in carrying on non-profit campaigns and organisations for the environment and human rights. The problem stands out in the combination of the twos: the political and environmental commitment of Vivienne with the brand and garments. The lack of innovation and the messy structure of messages are affecting negatively the brand image of Vivienne Westwood.The main problems in communication are: the storytelling in the campaigns is confusing and overwhelming of elements, not easy to understand, and Jurgen Teller's photography, Vivienne's friend since ever, is too flat and "perfect" for the messy and eclectic style of the fashion brand.


The rebrand

The idea is to embody better Vivienne's public commitment and messages in the brand, defined by historical and graphic characteristics. The design should be renovated as well with some new and fresh collaboration: Gareth Pugh's rejection of conservatism and dystopian style is perfect to bring up the revolutionary imaginary of Vivienne Westwood. If the Queen looks to the past, the young designer looks at the right opposite direction: the future.Stefan Sagmeister leads the visual communication side of the new rebranding. He was chosen for his punk attitude that made him popular. In this case the new style of campaigns is not really focused on photography yet on rough collages combined with handwritten typography.Pussy Riot, the Russian punk rock band, is meant to be the new face of Vivienne Westwood. Actually their faces never appear, but the symbolic colorful balaclavas and the lyrics of their songs express precise messages of social commitment.
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updated: March 2021