About
Super rare and original circa 1980 - 1981 BOY "Vive Le Rock / Punk Rock Disco"double sided muslin/cheesecloth long sleeve t-shirt. An absolute iconic piece of punk clothing from the legionary 153 Kings Road store; the original design drawn by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McClaren in the late 1970s. The shirt is a later but very early 1st reproduction from the infamous BOY boutique which carried earlier Seditionaries designs under licence with both their original, earlier label or the new BOY label. The t-shirt is made with 2 layers of fabric and has the original "D" ring and dog clip fastenings which are now a little aged with rust. In truly excellent, display worthy condition, there is no fade and just one discreet rip horizontally on the left breast with a few other scattered worn sections but no holes. Quite remarkable as these were often custom ripped by their owners and worn until they fell to pieces. Westwood also proclaimed that this only added to the look. They are not known for being well made! The velcro fastenings are just about still working but could be replaced if desired. These T-shirts are notorious for being faked but this is absolutely the crudely printed and made original and has been in a private collection for nearly 30 years. A museum worthy piece or for the serious collector / archivist.
Malcolm McLaren in 2008 said the following about this specific design which was printed on the front and back of t-shirts and tops first sold in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s King’s Road store Seditionaries in 1978.
"There were T-shirts left over from the Wembley Rock & Roll revival festival in our cupboards in South Clapham; we had to do something with them. Sid Vicious liked them just the way they were and was often photographed in the original Vive Le Rock! design. But I needed to throw a few messages across them and reinvent them. So, I married the slogan and images of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis with words and drawings from various texts, using the title of The Anarchist Cookbook as well as the famous phrase of the Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durutti"
MEASUREMENTS:
BUST - 40 in. (101.6 cm)
LENGTH - 30 in. (76.2 cm)