The Punk Aesthetic- Collaboration: Homage to Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood

As some of you may now already know, I love to champion others, and especially those behind the clothes; including the models, photographers, artists and designers I work with.

I also love to collaborate, working with local artists and designers.

I couldn’t wait to tell you all about my collaboration with Fanni of Thinkoverart.

This blog is from my GRLPWRWMNPWR Series, reimplemented from the phase one site.

ThriftVIP Collaboration with Thinkoverart 

Towards the end of 2017, I commissioned a brief to create a small collection of pieces to add to the ‘Punk Drunk Love’ theme for SS18.  These items, were added into this themed collection as very special one-off pieces, exclusive to the Thrift Generation VIP in-house label.

Fanni and I got along great from the get-go.  We’re totally on the same page with regards to our ethos and brand philosophy; championing the punk ethic and wanting to highlight the urgent action needed by us all to change the way we live in relation to the world we live in.  We both agree circular fashion, diversity and the freedom to be who we want to be is the way forward.

This blog showcases our two design collaborations.

Both pieces pay homage to designers we both admire and respect: Alexander McQueen & Vivienne Westwood

They are two designers who have made fashion feel humanistic.  Striking purpose and passion into the blood which runs through an otherwise purely profit driven industry. 

A deconstructed montage of the photograph we used for the illustration, by ThriftVIP. The original photograph was taken by Tim Walker, 2009

After reading the book Alexander McQueen ‘Blood Beneath the Skin’ by Andrew Wilson I felt inspired to create a piece which was at its very core the opposite of the relentless fashion machine, something which I feel McQueen was under pressure as a designer and artist to adhere to, after founding his own label in 1992, then going on to work at Givenchy. Lee McQueen produced a phenomenal amount of great work in a short space of time, and as a conceptual artist and skilled tailor in equilibrium, he was always true to his aesthetic. 

To create longevity in the product lifecycle is now important than ever before… 

I also read Vivienne Westwood’s diary book ‘Get a LIfe’ which offered a great insight into her ongoing efforts with relation to climate change and her fashion campaigns centred entirely around her green ethos.  It helped me to decide on the design and which elements we should highlight in terms of the Climate Revolution.  

Drawing inspiration from photographs and the designers themselves, I came up with two designs which would pay homage to them both and encapsulate their ethos as artists and designers in their own right.  Alexander McQueen with his unique approach to cutting and collaborating with others to create his visionary concepts, and Vivienne Westwood as a purely independent fashion house and Queen of fashion.  With hints of Lee's Scottish ancestry and Vivienne's orb re-imagined as a globe, it seemed only fitting to have them created as fine art pieces.

the process - artist at work

Fanni Kopacsi 

Fanni had a studio based in the centre of Nottingham which made meetings easy and interesting. I enjoyed visiting her studio space. Thanks for the tea!

Early sketches, inspired from a photograph of Lee McQueen

Above: Fanni’s experience of drawing and painting onto denim made this collaboration even more exciting

Skill & Dedication:  Fanni was able to draw upon the distinct features of Lee McQueen, creating a portrait inspired from a photograph, to beautiful effect. 

Birds & Wings 

These symbolic elements were important to include in the McQueen homage which relate to Alexander's previous collection concepts deriving inspiration from nature. 

the result - Alexander McQueen Homage Denim Vest

Above and Below: The McQueen Denim Vest, modelled by Glo Butane in London

A pre-loved denim vest: sourced locally, cherished forever, as anyone owning one of his pieces would do.

I’m donating a percentage of the sale of this piece to Alexander McQueen's Sarabande Foundation, supporting the arts and development for emerging artists and designers.  

The MCQUEEN documentary film was released June 2017

If you missed the Savage Beauty exhibition back in 2015, I did a write up on it. Find it in the next ARTICLE

save our green

After studying several different photographs which captured Vivienne Westwood and her punk ethic, it was decided that I’d represent her as the Queen of sustainable fashion, using a tagline with a nod to the Sex Pistols without it being too obvious and avoiding the original font style overlap of the original design .

Inspired by a photograph of Vivienne wearing one of her branded carrier bags as a headscarf, we replaced that with a crown with the text ‘Who are our ruler's’ which was a takeaway from the book. Crown wearing is something that is encouraged by Vivienne, with her idea of wearing one created by yourself to protest in.

The result is an elegant but strong image to highlight the climate crisis in a fine art illustration, encapsulated as a postage stamp.

Fanni captured Vivienne really well in her early drawings too (below)

By chance, I managed to source a yellow tee a week before the go-ahead so it was decided to use a T-shirt and stick to her brand colours of Red and Yellow, using black ink to define the new potrait within a stamp frame. T-shirts are the garment of choice for making a statement and it’s how Vivienne's fashion activism began. 

My original idea for this T-shirt was to create a very graphic pop-art piece, using screen printing techniques, but working with someone on a different medium, through fine art illustration was an enjoyable experiment. It gives the overall design a more organic feel which appeals to the green aesthetic too.

Above: I sent Vivienne a hand-made card for her birthday and asked for her approval on the design

Above: Images taken of the Vivienne Westwood homage Activist Tee during the SS18 shoot: Punk Drunk Love modelled by Shani

Read more about Vivienne Westwood’s Climate Revolution here

See more about how you can become part of the FASHION REVOLUTION on our dedicated page

Fanni and I went to see the film: Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist in Derby which we really enjoyed.  We sat and talked in the cinema for a good half an hour after the film which was great to experience together.

More about Fanni & Thinkover

by Fanni Kopacsi

More about Thinkoverart…

Thinkover is the hand-painted clothing brand, with the mission to celebrate diversity by creating one-of-a-kind wearable pieces of artworks. No two pieces we create are the same as there are no two people with the same identity. Thinkover is for responsible individuals, who think and question things and who are confident to wear the clothes that expresses their ideas, values and identity with a piece of art. 

I, Fanni Kopacsi, am the story behind the brand. When I was a teenager I suffered from a bad skin condition on my face. At the time I saw the girls in all the movies and advertisements that were perfectly pretty, and not considering myself one of them, I found refuge in the punk scene. The rebellion against the standard beauty and the distance from the “mass” was something very meaningful as I was suddenly surrounded by people who were not judging others on appearance. However, this did not resolve my lack of self-confidence and after graduating in the Art school of Hungary, I went to study economics at University as I never believed in myself as an artist. It was only some years later when I started to draw and paint again, just for my own joy.

And then, in 2014 during an exchange program in Italy, I painted my first artwork on a sleeveless garment. When my roommate saw it, she asked for something similar for herself - I was painting all night and something had changed inside me. But it was not until the next day, when she saw the painting, that I realised what my art is capable of. I saw all her insecurity going away. As she put the T-shirt on, she became a confident, strong woman who believes in herself and that she is capable to achieve everything she wants. 

“I discovered the power of my art and realised that I want to “free-up” more people. And so Thinkover was born. To allow and inspire us to be free to be ourselves and at the same time accept others the way they are. ”

I see Thinkover becoming the brand of a global community that believes in the potential of the individuals and embraces humanity. Thinkover’s vision is to create a world that is more accepting and loving. Where prejudice doesn’t exist. Where social paradigms can be challenged and changed. 

Fanni Kopacsi

Fanni was also working on a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a Public Art Exhibition in Nottingham during her time there, addressing human right issues such as prejudice and stereotyping. I’m so happy to see Fanni is thriving elsewhere now and love seeing how her business is growing and evolving.

I really enjoyed collaborating with Thinkover for my 2 In-house designs for ThriftVIP. It was so lovely to spend time discussing the ideas I had with Fanni. The way these were realised was brilliant. I’m so happy to have these special pieces in ThriftVIP collections.

Watch this space for future collabs!