For Lunar New Year – and the Year of the Dragon – Vivienne Shao designed social media illustrations for the iconic Vivienne Westwood. The four-strong collection showcased the fashion house’s gold and silver pearl dragon necklaces and earrings. Set against luminescent flames, it also featured TDF Vivienne’s hallmark of comic-style heroines, bubblegum pink and ‘lucky’ red.
“My initial vision was to create something energetic and lucky,” says Vivienne. “As a Chinese artist, the first colour that pops into my brain for Lunar New Year is red. In the New Year, we usually wish others ‘红红火火’: ‘vigorous’ and ‘good life’; this Chinese word contains the characters of ‘red’ and ‘fire.’”
The jewellery is also integrated with each character’s power pose, explains Vivienne. “I wanted to present the characters and items more as companions rather than just presenting them as products. So, the characters and jewellery complement one another – the items are like ritual weapons, they fight alongside each other.”
Vivienne’s proud Chinese heritage is imbued in her artworks – her initial sketches even included clouds inspired by traditional Xiangyun decorative patterns. “In Chinese culture, we always say that the dragons mount the clouds and ride the wind – dragons and clouds are always presented together.”
The commission struck a deeper resonance with Vivienne, beyond just originating from a household name. “As a Chinese artist, I’m very proud and happy to be involved in a project like this – Vivienne Westwood is a significant brand that has a bigger platform and voice. People from different cultures and backgrounds could know more about the Lunar New Year."
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