Though Tank Girl first appeared as a comic strip in Deadline magazine in 1988, I got to the party kind of late. In fact, though it’s uncool to say, I had no idea who she was until Hollywood made a movie about her in 1995 - a film the comic’s co-creator Alan Martin apparently called a “shit sandwich” (though I have that quote third-hand). Shit sandwich or no, and even after years of consuming fashion images in art, films, and magazines, Lori Petty’s often-maligned representation of the indie comic icon stopped me in my tracks.

Originally written by Alan Martin and illustrated by Jamie Hewlett, Tank Girl (TG) was described by her creators as “Mad Max designed by Vivienne Westwood; Action Man designed by Jean Paul Gaulthier.”* An ass-kicking, gun-toting, tank-driving anti-hero with a smart mouth and a punk-rock haircut, TG was , to me, a model of perfectly unselfconscious rebellion. She didn’t give a damn and, furthermore, she didn’t give a damn that she didn’t give damn - if you follow.

I was 23 when the movie came out, and TG was was the toughest girl I’d ever seen - but it was her aesthetic that made me a fan for life. A brilliant mix of push-up bras and motorcycle boots, wrecked tee shirts, military goggles, sweat-sock-armbands and vampy 50s makeup, her style was fierce and joyful and utterly unapologetic.

In many ways, the film manifestation of TG was a product of the 90s. Though the sci-fi action/comedy was set in the future, the wardrobe embodied that decade’s obsessions with rave culture, military style, and grunge androgyny - but stylistically, it went much farther. It borrowed from punk and retro camp. Naomi Watts’ sexy-yet-nerdish Jet Girl was a precursor to Geek Chic, while Malcolm MacDowell’s evil Kesslee was pure futuristic minimalist. And while these references occasionally appeared on their own, more often than not they were all jumbled together in a way that give live characters all the aesthetic potential of comic book illustrations. This playful, tough, irreverent mishmash would become an obsession of mine for many years and inspires me even now.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me if I could recommend a movie worth watching just for the clothes. I said, “Tank Girl,” right away. It’s a wonder for variety alone, considering Lori Petty changes costume 18 times in 103 minutes. No matter how many times I see it, watching that girl barrel through almost two hours of non-stop, chaotic, aesthetic rebellion always piques my sense of wardrobe adventure. Whatever the problems with the movie (I still love it unabashedly but, after delving into the original comics, even I realize there were many), they got the wardrobe exactly right.

-Gwen

Vivienne in her famous rocking horse shoes.

This biography chronicles Vivienne’s life from childhood to her sixties, documenting the inward and outward influences that helped shape her into the King’s Road punk, outrageous innovator, and renegade style icon she is known as today. As emphasized in the book, Vivienne always sought attention (declaring at the birth of sister, Olga that she would “‘dead her and put her in the dustbin’”) and adding provocative details to her school gymslips. This originality married with a nostalgic affection for traditional English textiles would become one of Vivienne’s trademarks, as seen in her Harris Tweed and Anglomania collections.

Vivienne was famously uninterested in trends, seeking to create what appealed to her own artistic sensibilities, causing immeasurable stress for those working with her. Her use of impractical fabrics and cuts made her designs “extremely complicated to manufacture, as she [rejected] any recognizable template or pattern”. In the business world, Vivienne’s companies dealt with constant financial mismanagement, largely stemming from employees taking advantage of her trust (or oversight, as the case may be) and swindling money.

Vivienne fought for recognition among her contemporaries, such as John Galliano (with whom she unsuccessfully competed to become Design Director of Dior in the mid-90s), Alexander McQueen and Jean-Paul Gaultier, many of whom restructured Vivienne’s original concepts, such as the corset and bustle, to be more commercially successful.

Naomi Campbell’s famous topple in 10 inch super-elevated lace-ups,
Anglomania gown, corset from A/W 90 Portrait collection.

An Unfashionable Life is fascinating for how it charts a woman who influenced latter 20th century fashion so deeply. Vivienne’s use of sloganned tee-shirts – a design concept which deserves partial accreditation to Malcolm McLaren – ranging from the provocative “naked cowboys shirt” to text based styles, such as, “The best accessory is a book” – reflect Vivienne and her followers’ reactions to mainstream fashion. When 80s power dressing meant androgynous pantsuits, Vivienne reintroduced the corset and celebrated the shape of a woman.

Vivienne was (and probably is) not easy to work with, but this book explores her unrelenting quest for personal satisfaction. Each collections has its own philosophy, and Vivienne’s mix of slapdash (sometimes even getting seamstresses and friends out from the audience to make adjustments, while allowing models to style themselves) and studied, has created a completely unique look. Although all her collections have not been critical successes, An Unfashionable Life provides a detailed and highly readable guide to the Westwood evolution. It provides array of perspectives, including those of her critics, to depict a designer who thrived off intentional and unintentional marriages between challenging the status quo and embracing her English roots.

famous Westwood attitude.

Highly recommended for those interested by Vivienne, the evolution of 60s street-style or contemporary fashion’s roots. Viv covered a lot of territory, and this book has the substance to match.

Vivienne Westwood – An Unfashionable Life by Jane Mulvagh, Harper Collins, 1998
review by Esmé Hogeveen