Faith Richardson dons her best tartan trews and whisks herself off to The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle to check out a new exhibition that celebrates the extraordinary creations of Vivienne Westwood.

When you think of Vivienne Westwood, you probably picture grungy punk London scenes, lots of tartan, and thousands and thousands of safety pins. What you probably don’t imagine is a picturesque stately home in the north-east. However, that’s exactly the setting of the brand-new ‘Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ retrospective at The Bowes Museum, and once you see the exhibition in place, it suddenly, miraculously, makes sense.

Set across the County Durham museum’s second floor, the exhibition chronicles more than 40 of Vivienne Westwood’s most revolutionary designs spanning the early 1980s to the 2000s, and features a combination of items from a collaboration between The Bowes Museum, Associate Curator Peter Smithson, private collectors, Manchester Art Gallery and Fashion Museum Bath.

However, it’s Peter Smithson – Associate Curator and Vivienne Westwood collector – who is responsible for some of the most impactful, playful and stand out pieces that appear in the exhibition. Peter has been adding to his private Vivienne Westwood collection for more than 30 years and has racked up everything from fur-trimmed pantaloons to head-to-toe harlequin print ensembles while building his vast collection.

This, however, is the first time he’s seen items styled together. The collection has been carefully staged, dressed and positioned among the treasures already housed in The Bowes Museum, and features individual garments, accessories, jewellery, and ephemera that make up some of Westwood’s most outrageous and innovative style moments. From tartan two-pieces and striped suits, to a pair of sheer tights with nothing but a mirrored fig leaf to cover up, everything went when it came to Westwood’s fashion. But most of all, it was about the fun.

Peter said: “Vivienne’s approach to design and construction was as unique as she was. A golden thread of storytelling ran through her collections, an endless creativity fuelled by a thirst for history and culture. Each look represented a character, scene or moment; every detail had a purpose. Vivienne spent a lifetime shocking and delighting in equal measure; in disregarding trends and blurring the lines between fashion and art, her work remains timeless. Drawing from a lifetime of collecting, it is a privilege to be able to share so many iconic looks for visitors to enjoy and continue to honour Vivienne in doing so.”

You might still be wondering how her famously playful and punk-inspired aesthetic fits into the historic French-inspired chateau building of The Bowes Museum. As a dedicated researcher of historical clothing and a fan of all types of artworks, Westwood actually visited The Bowes Museum back in 2006, and the setting itself highlights the true magic of Westwood’s clothes. Peter’s carefully curated collection of garments are grouped together in cohesive collections, and each collection is surrounded by artworks from around the museum which mirror the inspiration behind her designs.

The leather jacket that was created thanks to Westwood’s fascination with how suits of armour are assembled is displayed alongside some real deconstructed suits of armour and marble-carved gauntlets. A dress that features a metallic silver print inspired by gilding on French furniture stands alongside decorative wooden chests with the same finishes. Reuben-esque paintings are hung beside corsets and bustiers with near identical prints and colour palettes. The impact of Westwood’s bold, colourful and creative designs might seem like they should be at odds with the surroundings, but instead it emphasises the creativity, history and beauty that went into her designs – and shows it off so much more than an empty, brightly lit gallery.

But it’s not just the inspiration behind her fashion that’s showcased here; across the hallway in the Fashion and Textiles gallery there’s a more in-depth look at how exactly some of her stand out designs were made. Here, each piece has been arranged to feel like they’re in a real working atelier, complete with sewing machines, pin cushions and rolls of fabric. The Bowes Museum even worked with the Fashion Department at Northumbria University to digitally deconstruct pieces to show how Westwood put them together, showing how she did everything from pleating to screen printing.

If you want to get hands on, the museum will even be running public events that immerse you even further into the world of Westwood. Visitors can learn the techniques she used in workshops that let you try your hand at weaving Harris tweed, and there’ll even be actual textiles that you handle to get a real feel (pardon the pun) for her collections.

‘Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary’ will be available for visitors to view at The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham until 6 September 2026. thebowesmuseum.org.uk