Vivienne Westwood exhibition to open at Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

The venue's latest capsule collection belongs to Peter Smithson, a teacher from Cumbria who started collecting the legendary designer's clothes in the 1980s after being drawn to her early punk work,

Items on show include a black velvet catsuit with gold ink featuring Westwood's orb logo from the Portrait (autumn/winter 1990/91) collection and a MacPoiret tartan jacket, cap and micro-kilt with bustle, Peter Pan shirt, cardigan and orb tie from On Liberty (autumn/winter 1994/95).

Cecilia Oliver Textile Conservator putting the finishing touches to the Vivienne Westwood 'A Collectors Story' exhibition in the Fashion & Textile Gallery in Bowes Museum Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Westwood clothing and accessories will be set alongside objects from the County Durham museum's 50,000-strong collection that echo the historical references in her work, allowing visitors to examine the materials and techniques used.

With a particular focus on the years from Mini-Crini (1985) to Storm in a Teacup (1996/97), people will be able to see a wide selection, including a star printed sphere crinoline with wood grain corduroy jacket from spring/summer 1986 close to a crinoline from 1869 in the Fashion & Textiles gallery, as well as a number of historic bustles from the museum's stored collection.

Rachel Whitworth Curator of Fashion & Textiles at Bowes Museum and Cecilia Oliver Textile Conservator starting to put together the Vivienne Westwood 'A Collectors Story' exhibition in the Fashion & Textile Gallery in Bowes Museum Picture: SARAH

Smithson's favourite outfit, a slashed denim jacket and jeans with a diagonally cut exaggerated smock shirt from Cut, Slash and Pull (spring/summer 1991) will be sited near a miniature portrait from the early 17th Century depicting a man wearing a slashed doublet showing the contrasting colour of the layer underneath.

Mr Smithson didn't set out to become a collector, but visited Westwood's stores as a teenager and recalls looking at the clothes almost as objects of interest in a museum. Now, with thousands of items in his collection and more than a hundred full outfits he decided it was time to share some of them for others to enjoy.

Rachel Whitworth Curator of Fashion & Textiles at Bowes Museum starting to put together the Vivienne Westwood 'A Collectors Story' exhibition in the Fashion & Textile Gallery in Bowes Museum Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

"It was very important to me to approach a museum that was in the north of England," he said. "I'm from the north of England and I wanted to keep the collection in the north of England and I wanted to allow people in the north of England to experience something that perhaps normally you would have to travel further afield for.

"This is not just a collection, these are memories of my youth and growing up from when I was in my teens to the present day."

Rachel Whitworth Curator of Fashion & Textiles at Bowes Museum and Cecilia Oliver Textile Conservator starting to put together the Vivienne Westwood 'A Collectors Story' exhibition in the Fashion & Textile Gallery in Bowes Museum Picture: SARAH

Rachel Whitworth, the museum's curator of fashion and textiles, added: "The museum had a great working relationship with Vivienne Westwood, so to be able to honour her work by showing his collection, set among items from our own that echo Westwood's story and show how her work was influenced by art and history felt like the right fit."

The exhibition opens tomorrow, Saturday July 22, and runs until February 4.

Cecilia Oliver Textile Conservator putting the finishing touches to the Vivienne Westwood 'A Collectors Story' exhibition in the Fashion & Textile Gallery in Bowes Museum Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT