Vivienne Westwood designs costumes for amfAR gala in Salzburg

British luxury brand Vivienne Westwood designed the costumes for the amfAR Gala, which took place on Sunday, August 24. Around 400 high-profile figures from the arts, culture, politics and business gathered at the Salzburg Residence. The theme was Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s "Jedermann", which was performed as part of the Salzburg Festival.

Creative director Andreas Kronthaler transformed costumes once worn by opera singers and actors, from the Salzburg Festival’s costume archive, into new creations. The costumes were taken apart, combined, re-sewn and mixed with pieces from current collections. This was "to tell a new story in the unmistakable style of the house", according to a press release.

"Salzburg has a special meaning for Vivienne and me, and Vivienne Westwood is honoured to be part of the amfAR Gala, taking place here in Austria for the first time. In collaboration with the fantastic costume department of the Salzburg Festival, we designed costumes for this performance. The costumes will be auctioned to raise funds for the important research and the ongoing fight against the global AIDS epidemic. Theatre is vital," commented Kronthaler.

Figures and creations

The costumes represented the themes of the play: life and death; possession and loss; power and humility. They told the story of the play’s motifs and the characters within it.

The character of Buhlschaft appeared (unlike in the original) three times on stage to symbolise her transformation and the past, present and future. Three red dresses show the different phases. A light red-pink chiffon dress over a classic Vivienne Westwood corset is a playful variation, with beaded embellishments from the archive and a Westwood butterfly motif. Two original dresses from the Salzburg costume archive were combined into one for this look.

A second red dress is elegant and consists of a beaded bodice and a long sequined skirt with a fringed hem, also created from the combination of two pieces from the archive.

The third dress, symbolising the vision, is a classic Vivienne Westwood “Bird of Paradise” dress in red silk taffeta with voluminous sleeves and the house’s classic silhouette. Decorative embellishments, originating from an original costume, were integrated into the new romantic Westwood design.

Original dresses were also used for the dinner guests. For one look, two original dresses from the Salzburg costume archive were again combined into a dramatic one that sits on a corset structure with an overlapping, exaggerated peplum at the front. It has layered Elizabethan-style sleeves, a classic Westwood silhouette and a cascading black feather skirt.

The second look is a 1950s-inspired dress, based on a simple black taffeta ballgown from the Salzburg theatre archive, reworked with layers of tulle and embellished with oversized crystal motifs and huge embroidered flowers.

The figure of Death wore a black corset dress with beaded shoulder pads and fringed sleeves that fall down the front and end in a long taffeta train. Various pieces were taken apart, combined and re-sewn for this creation.

After the performance, the 18 costumes were auctioned along with other items for a good cause. In total, over half a million euros was raised.

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