Vivienne Westwood’s Pearl Choker Will Always Be Fashion’s Counter-Cultural It-Accessory

Vivienne Westwood’s Bas Relief pearl chokers are the epitome of all that’s royally rambunctious about the brand. Since bursting onto the fashion scene in a riot of rubber, zips and leather in the early ’70s, the punk designer has been distilling anarchic influences into clothing that’s equal parts wild and exceptionally crafted. 

Westwood fashion is recognised as a counter-cultural statement, but it transcends time because of its iconography. Always radical, there is no one who does what she does, which is why her signature necklaces – the entry-level products into the Vivienne Westwood world – are still worn as badges of pride by generations of individuals who like their style with a dash of the subversive.

Like her corsets and crinoline, Westwood’s pearls take traditional upper-class fashion codes and turn them on their heads. With the brand’s orb and saturn ring emblem front and centre of the milky beads, the focus is on the designer’s fusion of the past with the future. 

Born in the mid ’80s, by which time Westwood had separated from her partner Malcolm McLaren, and was in Italy working with Fiorucci while musing on her own royal-inspired collection, the logo has roots in Prince Charles’s style. 

The designer conjured up a knitted jumper emblazoned with British insignia – including the orb from the crown jewels – that the Prince of Wales might wear. To modernise the symbol, she sketched a satellite ring around the orb – much to the delight of her friend Carlo D’Amario, who subsequently went onto become the business manager of Vivienne Westwood. The logo was launched and has been stamped on the brand’s collections ever since.   

Read More:  vogue.co.uk

Amazon Top Selling Products