12th Dec, 2023 14:00

Passion for Fashion

 
Lot 241
 

Nick Egan's Westwood/McLaren bespoke suit, 'Nostalgia of Mud' (Buffalo) collection, Autumn-Winter 1982-83

World's End labelled, of brown wool with cinammon stripes, with lapel facings of grey wool applied with glazed cinammon and green porcelain beads, lightly padded shoulders with gathers to sleeve tops, lined in red, blue and yellow madras-striped cotton; the trousers cut in 'pirate' style with looped front fly cover and curved lower legs, chest 107cm, 42in, trouser waist max 97cm, 38in, inside leg 89cm, 35in (2)

Today Nick Egan is a highly successful visual design artist, director of music videos, commercials and film and lives in California. (see interview with American Apparel http://www.haroldloren.com/nick-egan-american-apparel/). However, in the early 1980s he was a young student at Watford College of Art and Design, focusing on graphic design. London in the early 80s, with its vibrant club scene, musical and fashion innovation and creativeness - was the perfect ‘hot-bed’ for this young, graphic designer. He worked with groups including a T-shirt design for The Ramones and album covers for The Clash and the chart topping Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

He soon came to the attention of Malcolm McLaren which led to a successful collaboration – working on album covers, graphic design and print projects for the Westwood/McLaren collections, 1981-83.

Nick Egan writes:

‘’ I worked (and modelled) for both Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. I worked with Malcom on his music albums, 'Duck Rock' and 'Fans' I also designed the invitations and catalogues for Nostalgia of Mud, Punkature and Witches. I designed the logo signage on the Nostalgia of Mud shop at St Christopher’s Place as well as art-directed the shows at Olympia… Vivienne asked me to model in the collections in London and Paris (including the first ever World's End show in Paris). As a result of this everything I wore in the shows was custom made for me, unlike the other models who modelled the samples according to their size. Sadly, the only thing I still have from then is this suit.‘’

This suit (and indeed all the clothes Nick wore in the shows) had to be custom-made because of his tall height.

The ‘Nostalgia of Mud’ show opens with Vivienne’s manifesto for the collection as a backdrop which had been handwritten for her by Nick. A group of models wearing these suits with glazed ceramic beaded lapels marches forwards holding chunky walky-talkies to the soundtrack of ‘Convoy’. Nick can be clearly seen wearing this suit, towering over the other models on the catwalk. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC9xsOoh-5s

Nick’s appearance on the catwalk obviously made a strong impression on a journalists writing for Blitz magazine and she wrote an article all about him, hardly mentioning the show at all (illustrated b ya large picture of Nick modelling in the Punkature show, SS 1983.

‘When Vivienne Westwood showed her first ‘Buffalo Gals’ collection in the Pillar Hall in 1982 a lot of the hearts in the audience missed a beat…including mine.

Within minutes of Nick Egan leaping onto the runway, a thousand fashion editors and their assistants were reaching for their smelling salts to counter their palpitations! However, the thoughts in their heads were not carnal but verged on maternal. Here was this giant of a man wildly throwing himself down the catwalk, and everyone willing him to make it to the end without taking any of the overhead lighting equipment with him…

I am pleased to say he did make it, and also the show… and subsequent Worlds End Outings.

But Nick is not a model and has no pretensions of being anything like. So how did he get involved? Working alongside Malcolm McLaren on the graphics and presentation for the first Buffalo show, he had cause to visit Vivienne at the shop. ‘’I guess it was because I was tall and unshaven, but Vivienne just said, ‘I want to use you’. I just laughed. ‘’ She was not joking and Nick has since appeared alongside her in London, New York and Paris. ‘’I love Paris during fashion week. It’s like Hollywood must have been like in the 1930s. The shows are like premieres. In Paris everyone knows that something is going on. You can see it in every café, feel it in every bar.’’ Nick insisted that he didn’t take modelling seriously but enjoyed wearing the World’s End styles clothes and therefore felt fine modelling them.

This year Vivienne is not modelling in London but Nick has Paris to look forward to again. ‘’I had a chance to see real designers and real shows… Jean Paul Gaultier, Montana and Mugler!’’ Would he like to model in a Mugler show? ‘If I was a woman I would definitely do it, ‘cause his clothes are good for women…even Vivienne liked him, except she didn’t think he was sexy and I did.’

This suit is unique in the sense that it was bespoke for Nick Egan, an important figure in McLaren and Westwood’s fashion and business world’s at the time, who worked not only on the graphic design of prints for fabrics, invitations, album covers, shop front, but who art-directed some of these early shows

Sold for £5,200

Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)


 

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Last updated: 23rd May 2014

 
 

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