Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe to be auctioned

The personal wardrobe of the late British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood is to be auctioned at Christie’s this summer. The landmark sale will raise funds for the causes Dame Vivienne championed throughout her life, with proceeds directed towards supporting The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Greenpeace.

The auctions will showcase the personal wardrobe featuring some of the most iconic looks she created and wore during the last four decades of her life, Christie’s said in a statement. The collection, exclusively containing garments, shoes, and jewellery by Dame Vivienne Westwood’s eponymously named fashion house, is recognized as historically and culturally significant — the earliest piece included in the sale originates from the Witches collection for autumn/winter 1983/84.

Recognized as one of the most important British fashion designers of all time, Dame Vivienne used her influence to address some of the gravest issues facing humanity today, establishing The Vivienne Foundation to partner with NGOs with similar aims: ‘to create a better society and halt climate change’. In 2011, the ITC (International Trade Centre) invited Westwood to travel to Kenya to see where some of her designs were being made via their Ethical Fashion Initiative, which supports 2,600 local artisans.

The auction will take place in two parts, across a live auction on 25 June, with an online sale running alongside from 14–28 June. Christie’s said it will publish a limited-edition catalogue to accompany the auction.