Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood‘s history is fascinating and part of it is in the Pistol series, available in Brazil on StarPlus. Although in general, it is dangerous and unfair to summarize some initiatives, in her case it is only correct to say that she invented the look of the 1980s. Punk fashion, later transformed into the ‘new wave’, was born in her store in London, the result of her political and social non-conformity and even more, of her creative genius. Over the next few decades, Vivienne established herself as one of the fashion world’s most sought-after and respected designers, and unsurprisingly, she was one of the stylists bestowed by Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. So much so that she signs the character’s iconic wedding dress, an important part of the film’s plot and the series canon.

Vivienne passed away at the age of 81, in late 2022, when filming for And Just Like That was still rolling in New York. When we saw that Carrie was going to wear the dress again, we were trying to understand the context. Now it’s clear. The tribute was emotional, smooth, and very elegant, which reminds us of the model’s history.

In the 2008 feature, Carrie is invited by Vogue magazine to pose as the 40-year-old bride and we have a clip of several brands and dresses by famous designers, but it is the model that was in the autumn/winter 2007 collection of Vivienne Westwood Gold Label that stood out. In the catalog it is called ‘Wake Up Cave Girl’ and, according to the stylist, it was “inspired by the diamond cutting technique”.

In a pearly color and layered, the dress is bold and romantic (I just don’t like the green bird on her head yet) and ended up being a gift to Carrie by Vivienne herself, who would have loved the photos. Nothing could be further from reality! First, Patricia Field, the costume designer, had preferred the black Zac Posen dress, which Charlotte ended up wearing in the movie because she thought that in order to marry Mr. Big, Carrie should and would have chosen mourning, to be faithful to the complex toxic relationship she had with him until then (and a little later too). Secondly, because, according to legend, the stylist left the cinema just 10 minutes after the film started (that is, more or less right after seeing her dress on the screen) because she did not like Patricia’s work (“I thought that ‘Sex and the City´ was going to be about the most unusual, the best of fashion, but there was nothing remotely memorable or interesting in what I saw”, he said at the time). And third, the model became one of her best sellers, but it was never presented to Sarah Jessica Parker, who, by contract, keeps the clothes used by Carrie. That’s right, the actress explained in interviews that having the dress in the series demanded a long, detailed, and delicate negotiation. Therefore, an ultra-special moment on and off-screen!

In the quick sequence of the episode that opens the second season of the series, Carrie has a problem to go to the MET Ball: her dress is not ready, so she needs to find a suitable replacement in her closet. There is no woman who doesn’t dream of that character’s closet, whose size is incredibly tight for the volume of pieces – expensive and iconic – that it houses. The theme of the ball was ‘veiled beauty’ and ‘and just like that‘, the writer remembers that she has a Vivienne Westwood kept and that it was never officially used by her. There is no mention of Big (due to the strained relationship between the cast and actor Chris Noth after the sexual abuse allegations) and it is, in fact, a simple tribute in memory of the designer. So much so that she uses the song Hong Kong Garden, by Siouxsie and the Banshees, one of the bands that emerged via Vivienne and was led by her personal friend, Siouxsie Sioux. We will have a separate post about the song, but it turned out fabulous.

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