Vivienne Westwood storms into India, garners mixed reactions

The Gateway of India dazzled with celebrities and models as its turned into a runway for the first ever Vivienne Westwood showcase in India last night. Not only did it showcase the Spring/ Summer 2025 collection but also a capsule collection with the fabrics Khadi and Chanderi silk, paying homage to the tradition and heritage of India. The showcase was attended by the who’s who of Mumbai, not to mention several celebrity faces that were spotted for the occasion.

Who was Vivienne Westwood and what made the showcase last evening special?

Late Vivienne Westwood was considered as a mark of luxury fashion. Hailing from United Kingdom, she revolutionised the wearability of modern punk fashion. Her designs first came to notice when they were worn by the punk band Sex Pistols in the early 1970s and since then there was no looking back.

Apart from launching her luxury fashion collections she was also known to have designed the academic dress of King’s College London in 2008 or the uniform for the Virgin Atlantic Crew. Many well known names and even the English Royals have been her clients. While Princess Eugenie wore three of her designs during her the wedding functions of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Dua Lipa also wore a custom Westwood for an award show; and her designs were showcased in the film adaptation of Sex and the City. Westwood passed away in 2022 which was a great loss to the world of fashion.

Posthumously, this was the first showcase of the legendary brand in India and tried to bring in creativity and artistic narratives through the designs. Some signature styles like low ruffles, sheer silhouettes, the use of wool, sculpted silhouettes, and volumes all added the extra drama required for the grand debut of the collection. Each showcase was also accompanied by accessories like bags, jewellery and footwear which also comes under the ambit of the brand designs.

Putting up a social media post on their official profile the brand stated, “This evening, set against the backdrop of the historic Gateway of India, illuminated with vivid colours, we presented our first fashion show in India to celebrate the country’s rich artisanal textile heritage.⁠ The runway show presented a selection of Spring Summer 2025 looks and archive pieces, alongside a special capsule collection of couture looks crafted with the finest hand-woven Chanderi silks and Khadi fabrics.”

Several celebrities like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Janhvi Kapoor, Radhika Merchant, and Bhumi Pednekar attended the show. In fact, Radhika Merchant was dressed up in a beautiful pastel Westwood Gown styled by Rhea Kapoor which made her look someone straight out of a portrait.

Radhika puts up a statement, “Radhika Ambani wears an Archival corset and scarf by  Vivienne Westwood from her iconic 1990 A/W Portrait Collection with a custom chanderi Sari and jewels by Shachee Fine Jewellery. Vivienne Westwood’s 1990-91 ‘Portrait’ collection is one of her most important collections, the collection marks a lot of firsts for Vivienne! It was the first appearance of the famous Vivienne Westwood Boucher corset.The Portrait collection of 1990/91 was dedicated to the richness of eighteenth-century oil painting – drawing directly from the decorative universe of the Wallace Collection.”

Designer Manish Malhotra who was also present at the showcase put up stories on his profile teasing the audience with behind the scene moments.

However, what is interesting to note is the audience and general public reactions which speak otherwise. There have been reactions which spell out the disappointment in the collection and the infrastructure management in general. A user mentions, “Do they know about India fabric and textile? Seriously, this collection looks cheap. Don’t throw something and call it fashion." Celebrity stylist, wedding stylist and designer Preetam Jukalkar put out a post about the beauty standards that were represented by thin models walking the rampway instead of being inclusive with all figures.

But the silver lining of the event is that it also garnered equal praises making this debut showcase emit very mixed reactions from the audience. One user mentions, “Amazing!!’ ; another mentions, “Beautiful” and ‘ Iconic”.

The iconic status of Vivienne Westwood generated high expectation from the people. The debut worked for some while it was not up to the mark for many. But with the debut of the brand in India, one can at least look forward to more shows and collections where they can better themselves in the future.