In each image shot by Annie Leibovitz, she was accompanied by a designer dressed as a character from wonderland (along with a few from the 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass). They make you believe you could be in a parallel world – or that the world we think we know reflects the way we are programmed to see it. Yes, as I said, it was more Carroll – and more Alice, courtesy of the sequel that everybody mis-titles, Through the Looking Glass. We believe the government works to help our society; Westwood tells us “governments do not care about people”. Westwood thinks of Wonderland as a place of conflict: here, Alice’s logic is in tension with that of the characters within Wonderland.

WESTWOOD’S WONDERLAND: Vivienne Westwood has teamed with Vintage Classics on a special gift edition of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” to mark the tale’s 150th anniversary. In 2007 she was awarded the gong for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design at the British Fashion Awards - but she was late on to the stage to collect it since she'd popped out to go to the loo.Complete with giant tumbling playing cards, an array of cakes and biscuits, and three carefully hand-crafted headpieces. Ever since Alice first tumbled down a rabbit hole and entered the public consciousness via the release of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, the curious, pragmatic, sometimes snappish little girl dreamed up by Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) has become an unusual literary emblem – and surprising visual icon. Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Now she has illustrated her favourite children's story by creating a unique front cover and end papers for this very special edition. So this book, while honouring one birthday, is a full six years early to celebrate the 150th of what makes it so great.

Summary: How do you make a classic book that's really quite dreadful both better and worse for its 150th birthday?It’s a space where nonsense reigns and transformation (that quality so readily offered by clothing) is par for the course. Her contribution extends to an very personal introduction in which she explains Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland‘s deep connexion to her personal manifesto for positive activism.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Westwood also read excerpts from the story to 20 children from various charities, including Shelter, Rays of Sunshine and Kids Company. Dame Vivienne Westwood has designed and introduced a special 150th anniversary edition of her favourite children's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1872) for the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church.While on that subject, Tenniel is fully presented here, and while other artists have done just as much to make the books their own since, it is nice to have the classic artworks in their rightful place. It's a fantasia as opposed to a flop, a nuance and not a nonsense, and while it riffs off a young child's frustration at not being able to play chess (among other things), it is one perfect remove from the real world – via the imagination of a child (as perceived by a gent in his late 30s) into a surreal landscape, with even more bizarre characters than before. This anniversary edition also includes « Through the Looking Glass » and the original Tenniel illustrations. The unique front cover was inspired by the Harlequin; a print synonymous with the Westwood brand since the 1980’s and has been deconstructed to echo the hazy, kaleidoscopic fantasy world that Alice inhabits in Wonderland.

And even though I have spoken before of how I don't take to the book, I can hereby declare this party was made all the better for being twice as long, all courtesy of the presence of Lewis Carroll.We believe we are living in a democracy; Westwood says “there is no chance of immediate democracy in England”. A poor condition book can still make a good reading copy but is generally not collectible unless the item is very scarce. Featuring daring sets, VR experiences, and a whole host of Alice-related objects from handwritten manuscripts to stage costumes, the exhibition charts Alice’s origins, reinventions and extensive cultural reach over the past 156 years.