vivienne westwood

Spring 2012 Vivienne Westwood Runway Look 48 Red Silk Tulle Corset Dress w Full Netted Skirt

The twin of this dress walked the Spring 2012 runway for Look 48. It is also the actual dress that Momona Tamada recently wore for her Airbender Premiere. I love having these photos for you to see how fantastic it is on an actual body. On the runway it was styled with a belt which was sold separately and if you preferred that look it would be easy to add a belt in any colour and change the look of the dress. I think it looks equally as gorgeous without one though which is how Momona wore it.

This is a gorgeous dress that has that intricate construction that Westwood is so known for. The bodice especially shows that eye for detail that she has. It closes at the front with a hidden set side seam. Once you open that up open you see the beautiful interior construction.  There is one of her fully built in intricate corsets inside and it has stretch netting and elastic at the sides so that it fits the body perfectly once on. That stretch allows it some give once it's on the body and is what makes her pieces so comfortable to wear despite their heavily boned structuring. There is an inner waist stay as well and this keeps you perfectly in place inside the dress. The extensive boning in the corset pushes the breast up and brings the waist in. On the outside of the bodice there is a pointed peak on one side that you could wear folded down and tucked for a more true strapless look as we have shot it here or up and out depending on your preference. The back dips down and is gathered down the centre to expose the back of the corset a touch. It skims over the waist and flares out to the top of the hips. The skirt is inset in these beautiful curving scalloped details and then the skirt itself is made of layers of red tulle. Each tier has two layers of tulle and there are three tiers altogether that are all cut on a pretty curve. The back hem is cut longer so that it trails out behind you a bit. It is fantastically beautiful and you can see how fantastic it is on the body. I love this dress. Great condition with some small notes below.

The dress is fully lined in a red silk and the inner corset zips to close. The corset has side elastic and stretch netting so that it has some give and stretch once on the body. An inner waist stay hooks to close and then the dress zips over that with a hidden set zipper fallowing a side seam. I see some snags in the tulle on the front of the dress especially near the zipper and there has been a couple of tiny repairs to the tulle. This was worn on the red carpet exactly as is so you can see it is fine once on. The bottom hem is raw cut and there is perhaps a tiny tear in the netting here and there. With the raw hem meant to look a bit deconstructed this actually just adds to the beauty of the dress. The inner corset has been stitched in a touch on each side and I've left it as is. These could be un-stitched if needed. Please see the photo after the label shot. Tagged a modern Westwood UK8, US4, FR36, IT38.

Bust: 13-15, maybe 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 10-12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Total length: 49" from top of bodice to front hem, 57" to the back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS-XS

Item# DD4640

Reference Photos/Video: (1-5) Spring 2012 Vivienne Westwood, Look 48.  /  (6-8) Momona Tamada in this dress at the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Premiere, Feb 2024.

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