SATURDAY SHOW ♥ VIVIENNE WESTWOOD'S BUFFALO GALS ♥

BUFFALO GAL (GIRL) STYLE PART 3
(read part 1 and part 2)

malcolm mclaren and some buffalo gals

So here is where it all began...with one of the very early collections from Vivienne Westwood (in collaboration with her beau Malcolm McLaren) back in Paris in 1982-ish (might have shown in 1981 actually)...if you really look at it, including the makeup and androgyny, it looks very pre-pre-grunge...

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD'S ICONIC BUFFALO GIRL/GAL
(REALLY IT WAS CALLED "THE WORLDS END COLLECTION") 
FALL WINTER 1982/1983 COLLECTION. 
THE SHOW WAS TITLED "NOSTALGIA OF MUD".
I DON'T KNOW...THEY REFERENCE IT IN BOTH WAYS ON OFFICIAL SITES.
VERY CONFUSING. 

“In March 1982, McLaren and Westwood opened a second shop. It was called 'Nostalgia of Mud' and the fascia was covered by a world map. The interior was styled like an archaeological dig. Visitors descended on recycled scaffolding to an earth floor and a heaving ‘mud’ pond surrounded by voodoo-like artifacts.”  See below!

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Nostalgia of Mud shop exterior

Nostalgia of Mud shop interior

From Westwood's site:

Buffalo Girls (Nostalgia of Mud), AW 1982-83

Colours: Mud.

Raw cut sheepskin.

Bras – underwear worn as outerwear. (pre-Madonna.)

Inspiration: Peruvian women wearing bowler hats and full skirts, dancing with their babies tied on their back.

What's interesting is that even though this collection might horrify some of you, this collection was EXTREMELY influential from the tip top to the bottom of the rack. For years after, we saw baggy jackets, overalls, slouchy shoes (her "Sack shoes" were featured in this collection), drabby khaki colors...I remember as a kid how much of these colors were also in fashion, along with all the day-glo neon stuff. I just don't know if this collection really and truly gets the credit it deserves. It was a big statement about the world, indeed. But it also created a style trend that would never really go out of fashion. Ever. The ideas and the pieces just morphed into other things. But the bones always go back to this Worlds End/Nostalgia of Mud/Buffalo Gals collection. 

I love this bra top. I really love it!

Here's a quote from Malcolm McLaren in 1982 about the collection...

“What’s interesting about England right now is that there’s a definite movement to get involved with the Third World: to wear African dress, and put it with a Dominican hat, throw in some Peruvian beads, and wear make-up like some of the tribes in New Guinea – simply because we have to go even further to demonstrate that we want to get out of this island mentality.”

i love this. i don't know why. but i do.

for the image above...

Front: Buffalo outfit by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren

Nostalgia of Mud, A/W 1982
The skirts were inspired by a photograph of dancing Peruvian women. The pattern was taken from a woodblock print on a record cover. 

Wrap skirt: printed cotton, with machine embroidered flowers and knitted trim Underskirt: hand-dyed synthetic wadding 

Hooded top: perforated cotton
Mountain hat: wool
Brassiere: satin and leather

Also important were the shoes. Some of these continue to appear in Westwood's collections. But they also have shown up for years (esp in the 80s and 90s) in different re-incarnations on a very commercial level. Her SACK SHOES especially are important in recent fashion history. Below are images from shoes worn in the Nostalgia of Mud (Buffalo Gals) collection:

Here's an actual invite I found online to the show!

And some footage in the video below from the show...!♡

more buffalo gals posts here

more saturday show ♥ lacroix at desigual

will add credits later as i can't remember them all!