Vivienne Westwood’s First Ever Bridal Show in Barcelona Left Us Spellbound

I have a confession to make – one that might sound unexpected from someone whose calendar is shaped by fashion weeks and far-flung editorials. Between jetting off to a Swiss alpine town, and Barcelona Bridal Week in a matter of days, and tracing one new show to the next when the season hits, it’s easy – dangerously easy – to start feeling jaded.

Not truly, not in the core of me. Not when I’m standing on the peak of a mountain for our latest shoot, the clouds parting like silk around us, and I catch myself gasping at the sight. Places like that always anchor me back in the present.
But the fashion industry – so fast-paced, so trend-obsessed of late – can, at times, start to wear thin.

That is, until last night at the Vivienne Westwood debut bridal couture show.
Hi Vivienne. Good evening.

“This was Westwood doing what she’s always done – subverting the corset, turning it from a symbol of restriction into one of radical female power.”

After reading her memoir, I was reminded of how she – along with Alexander McQueen in the early 2000s – was what first pulled me into this world. They weren’t about trends, full stop. They were about the art. The craftsmanship. The story behind the piece, the installation, the world-building.

And even though her name had long since etched itself into my mind, we were a bit flustered after a full day on our feet – before being quietly ushered into the Universidad de Barcelona.

From the street, a towering carved wooden gate opened into a stone hallway. We climbed the grand, symmetrical staircase and stepped out onto a balcony-lined gallery overlooking a lush courtyard. The trees seemed to sway with us, holding their breath – then gently exhaling in anticipation. Overhead, ornate ceilings and archways framed the space.

The Universidad de Barcelona – with its cloistered walkways, vaulted ceilings, and timeworn stone – proved a stellar setting, where two icons met: the institution, and Vivienne Westwood herself.

“The dresses we saw last night at Vivienne Westwood were undoubtedly pretty – and then promptly redefined what that even means. Delicate, yes. But never delicate alone. They were beauty with backbone. So what made it so special? “It’s all about culture,” Westwood once said. Even if, in her view, most of us don’t really know what culture is anymore.”

Westwood is, without a doubt, a legend. The matriarch of fashion. A sovereign force in style.

The House of Vivienne Westwood doesn’t unveil new couture collections every day – which is exactly why this bridal showcase (in all caps) felt so rare, so electric. The signature corsets. The construction. The cut. And so much more, as we would soon discover.

As the music began – breathy, almost like a church choir crawling through your bones – the first look emerged. A woman who could’ve been Vivienne herself.

Silver-grey streaks through pale blonde hair, swept back. Skin lit softly in chiaroscuro. She moved with a quiet grace along the black-and-white tiled gallery, overlooking the courtyard below. She passed by – unhurried, almost reverent – then turned and leaned back against the balustrade. For a moment, she caught the light just so. The gown – all sculptural volume and unapologetic romance – spilled around her in layers of tulle, lace, and rosettes. Regal, yes, but raw too: frayed edges against structured boning, softness that carried weight. She didn’t just wear the piece – she embodied it. A portrait of memory, defiance, and devotion. A train of more irreverent Westwood silhouettes followed – gliding past like whispered rebellions in ivory. Hyper-cinched waists and sculpted busts echoed the structures of Rococo and Victorian dress, but stripped of nostalgia.

This wasn’t costume. This was Westwood doing what she’s always done: subverting the corset, turning it from a symbol of restriction into one of radical female power. There were minis that bloomed and collapsed at the hip, sheer veils revealing more than they concealed, and the occasional chain skimming the body – less embellishment, more quiet defiance. Elements like gloves and sheer, diaphanous fabrics summoned goth-punk codes and echoes of clubwear rebellion — veiled sensuality, romantic decay.

Then came the silhouette none of us editors could resist – the archetypal Westwood bride: sculpted off-shoulder, cut in silk duchesse. Simply timeless. But this one came with a twist – a delicate pin cushion wrapped around the arm, a quiet wink to the atelier. Sheer blush gloves cascaded from the wrist, a styling cue we’ll be borrowing immediately. Another look we adored: translucent lace wrapped and ruched over the body like gauze, revealing just enough – never too much. The wedding corset exposed at the back, raw and romantic. The same beaded gloves – this time embroidered like heirlooms – worn as though she’d stepped straight out of a crumbling cathedral. One of our Editor-in-Chief’s favorites was also worn by a fellow guest and friend – the perennially elegant writer and model Danielle Copperman. The look: a softly shimmering gown in pale gold, its draping fluid and light-catching, almost liquid. On the runway, it had been styled with a slouchy charcoal blazer and sculptural earrings. Danielle wore it her own way – bare-shouldered, with a burgundy lip.

Throughout the show, a quiet fire reignited in me. Oh right… that’s why I did love fashion so much. These days, few things in fashion give me goosebumps. Not like back then – when high-end designers weren’t just about a pretty dress. Even though, to be fair, the dresses we saw last night at Vivienne Westwood were undoubtedly pretty – and then promptly redefined what that even means. Delicate, yes. But never delicate alone. They were beauty with backbone. So what made it so special? “It’s all about culture,” Westwood once said. Even if, in her view, most of us don’t really know what culture is anymore. Are we talking about culture – or are we just talking about marketing these days? A different article, maybe. In her book Get a Life: The Diaries of Vivienne Westwood, she wrote: “Culture is necessary for human beings to evolve into better creatures.”But to evolve, you first have to understand the culture. And Vivienne didn’t just understand it – she was part of it. Not only her own moment – young in 1960s swinging London, surrounded by the stirrings of youth rebellion – but also something deeper. She looked back, far back, into the folds of history and drew from it with conviction.

One of her enduring muses was Queen Victoria – a woman of quiet resistance in her own right. When Victoria married in white silk satin in 1840, it was a radical departure from aristocratic custom. Then, white meant privilege, not purity. Westwood often returned to that moment – drawn to its subtle strength. Many of her bridal designs over the years echoed Victorian lines: corseted, sculptural, softened – but with modern restraint, rendered in ivory and black. In her hands, the bridal gown was never just tradition. It was a statement of self.

To wear Westwood bridal is to step into that tension – the bride who wants a sharp edge alongside soft, translucent lace and silk. Who wants her dress to be sculpture – as if Botticelli dreamed her up. It’s the house’s signature: that effortless pull between structure and softness. Corsetry so precise it disappears into the body. Silk that falls like liquid light. A gown that feels almost painterly, as if it stepped out of an Old Masters canvas – classic, arresting, serene. Since Vivienne’s passing over Christmas in 2022, the bridal collections continue under the creative direction of Andreas Kronthaler – her longtime collaborator and husband – alongside Brigitte Stepputtis, Head of Couture. Kronthaler, 25 years her junior, met Vivienne in the late 1980s as a student – a meeting that sparked one of fashion’s most enduring creative partnerships. They married in 1992, and over time, his voice became integral to the house’s evolution. Together, they shaped a vision that still dares, seduces, and endures.

After last night, we’re here to say – hey Vivienne, we remember. We salute you. And your legacy lives on.

See more about Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week on their official website.

Images by Marcos Sanchez for The Lane.