As I try to dissect and understand my own evolution from a blue haired mohawked youngster to a woman obsessed with looking spit spot on the outside while my mind and spirit always remain rebellious it has occurred to me that there is a reason why punks have always found some of their fashion sensibility in the propriety of the Victorian era. I don’t think its coincidental that there are so many references to be found in the queen of punk herself, Vivienne Westwood and her partner in crime, Malcolm McLaren. The Victorian age was well known for the debauchery that lay just beneath the surface of a well mannered facade. There is something perpetually sexy about the hidden and msyterious. Perhaps it is wise to consider, in this day and age of internet porn and no privacy, the benefits of keeping certain things hidden not only from the public eye but even from certain friends and acquaintances. I have always found the juxtaposition of two worlds beautiful and inspiring and in this case there is a common connection to be found. Both fashion statements are in essence controlled and very well thought out, and both usually reveal a person unlike what you find on the surface. I have been fixated on the McQueen images above from his Pre Fall 2009 collection as well as the image below from his Spring/Summer 2007 collection. Happy to have an excuse to revisit them… Ms. Westwood by the way has her first LA boutique opening this Fall in West Hollywood on Melrose and Sweetzer.
