Vivienne Westwood. London. March. 1994.
On her own, she summarized in what is rather stupidly called “Swinging London” a particular elegance near to the so-called “rock” scene. However she was far more than that. Queen of city culture, with her companion Malcom McLaren she had opened a shop, the “Paradise Garage”, which ended up being the bridgehead of the “punk” attitude, very trendy insolence in Great Britain in the 70s. In short, she belonged to the really closed circle of those who make fashion.
It was prepared to satisfy her in the Wallace collection museum in the center of London. The director of the facility had actually greeted us with the distant politeness of individuals of this country. However, we had to act quickly, so I installed standard lighting. When she pertained to settle into the gown of her option, I was all set. It was then that extremely naturally, the buddy of Vivienne showed up naked in the space to place himself at the feet of his beauty. Neither the team nor I being warned, I cast a concerned eye towards the person in charge of the properties. As a worthy representative of the dear Albion, the latter did not flinch. It needs to be stated that the regard she inspired put no limitation to her extravagances. I didn’t move an eyelid either, although the arrival of a naked guy in a museum in main London truly took me by surprise. I took the photo then we found the street to continue the session planned for the paper, this of course without showing the tiniest astonishment as to the past scene. I think even mentioning this scene to Vivienne would have seemed very vulgar to her. However, I can not help thinking of that the very same scenario in your home, in the Guimet or Orsay museums, would undoubtedly have actually provoked a very various reaction. When it comes to originality, the English will constantly be one action ahead of us.
Jean-Marie Périer