Show report: Vivienne Westwood Red Label S/S'12

From the sexy party clothes and colourful beauty looks right through to the music, Vivienne Westwood's Red Label show was all about fun

Vivienne Westwood Spring Summer 2012 London Fashion Week
Vivienne Westwood Spring Summer 2012 London Fashion Week
(Image credit: Imaxtree)

From the sexy party clothes and colourful beauty looks right through to the music, Vivienne Westwood's Red Label show was all about fun

A meat market may not seem the most glamorous location for a London Fashion Week show, but then Vivienne Westwood has never done things by the book, and that’s exactly where we headed to for the unveiling of her spring/summer 2012 Red Label collection.

Gone were the stalls of lamb joints and pork chops at Farringdon’s Smithfield Market, and in their place tiers of pillar box red seats where a well-heeled crowd, including Westwood muse and Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson and artist Tracey Emin, watched the models strut down the catwalk to the reverberating tones of grungy rock ‘n’ roll music.

The collection carried all of the kooky designer’s hallmarks – think tartan skirts, Grecian-inspired jersey dresses and bias-cut frocks in shimmering glossy metallics creating that signature Westwood hourglass silhouette – plus heaps of tailored pieces, such as blouses, jackets with draped lapels and trousers.

The hair and make-up created by Malcolm Edwards and Alex Box respectively was spectacular too, with a Midsummer Night’s Dream kinda vibe with huge backcombed bird’s-nest hair and fishtail plaits, and dreamy eye make-up in shimmering silvers, teal and red.

For the finale, Westwood did her bi-annual walk down the catwalk with her bevy of models to ZZ Top’s brilliant Gimme All Your Lovin’ which had everyone in their seats itching to get up and dance. All in all, it screamed fun!

SEE THE COMPLETE VIVIENNE WESTWOOD RED LABEL S/S '12 COLLECTION HERE