Ever wondered what that planet hanging off the edge of everyone’s pearl choker is? Global luxury fashion houses are experiencing a trend resurgence thanks to TikTok, giving Vivienne Westwood’s logo a great deal of publicity. However, many are unaware of this logo’s gripping origins. Thanks to a blog post on the official website, though, you can learn what it’s all about.
Around 1856, the World’s End shop closed and Westwood herself was spending time in Italy working on a new collection. She was inspired by combining futurism and tradition, with particular influence from space. Black holes, galaxies and the planet Saturn would all make their mark on Westwood’s future collection. Nevertheless, the Orb itself stemmed from one garment: a sweater Westwood imagined Prince Charles of Britain would have liked to wear, pictured below.
The orb captured all the motifs the British Crown favored: lions, griffons, thistle, a coat of arms, and, most importantly, the Crown and Orb from the Royal Jewels. Westwood hooked onto the Orb, yet keeping in mind her desire for a touch of futurism, decided to add a ring around it, akin to the planet Saturn. Shortly, a friend named Carlo D’Amario, now Vivienne Westwood business manager, saw the sweater and suggested the planet-like Orb be used as the house's official logo. Since then, it has been present in every single Vivienne Westwood collection. Whether as pins, earrings, embroidery, jewelry, patterns, and in dozens of other ways, this logo has transformed into a major statement to those captivated by pieces with a story.
Nowadays however, the Internet’s trend cycle has honed in on the logo as a piece of statement jewelry, with most of the time it appearing as a pendant on necklaces. This has led to many knock-offs, as is standard for the industry. But, it has also caused renewed interest in the fashion house, and many young adults interested in trends now build collections full of the planetary motif. In my opinion, however, it is an excellent logo that perfectly summarizes the house’s inspiration: traditional images with futuristic alterations.
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