Could this be fashion’s most outrageous moment?

Is this fashion’s most outrageous moment?

Words: Alison Veness Producer: Bianca Farmakis

When Liza Bracey began her journey as costume designer on the Danny Boyle-directed miniseries Pistol , she immersed herself in hours of original film footage of the Sex Pistols in all their confrontational creativity.

It was an iconoclastic onslaught of the history of punk: amazing, filthy, obscene and compelling. Bracey was on a mission to render the costumes authentically, a complex undertaking. Video: Disney+

Thus came the resurgence of punk. A mammoth task but an exciting one, too.

Setting the scene

Pistol is a miniseries based on Sex Pistol Steve Jones’s autobiography Lonely Boy . The book is unapologetic, uncomfortable and sexually adventurous. Cue a riot of destroyed T-shirts, slogans, tartan and fetish rubber. The most challenging part of the project, Bracey says, was the controversial iconography.

There were quite a lot of things we couldn’t use – today you’re not allowed to shock people, basically. I did find it frustrating because it’s hard to tell the story of rebellion, punk and anger [without them] … It’s a fine line.

“ Liza Bracey Video: Disney+

The Priestess of Punk

Pistol , and any punk story, would be incomplete without the legend that is Vivienne Westwood. In the 1970s, Westwood helped define the anarchic language of the movement. Westwood’s 430 King’s Road boutique “SEX” became the birthplace of a fashion movement.

Living legend

Bracey worked closely with the Vivienne Westwood Foundation and Joe Corré, Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s son. She recalls facing challenges with using “original stuff” that wasn't “built to last”.

“There’s a weight of responsibility that comes with portraying somebody who is alive… She’s the classic English eccentric.”

Talulah Riley, star of Pride & Prejudice , plays Westwood, which she says was so much fun.

Getting the look

Bracey loved working on the costumes for punk icon Jordan Mooney, who is also synonymous with establishing punk as an attitude. Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams plays Mooney, and says that the role required a huge physical transformation. Image: Instagram | Maisie William

Stepping into Mooney’s platform shoes was “a labour of love”, she adds, which gave her the freedom to perform. “I felt stripped of my safety blanket, but it pushed me to step up my game and find something real.”

London calling

Bracey admits Westwood is part of the reason she became a costume designer, learning corsets to emulate her idol in the process. But the hope for Pistol is to capture the era’s mood.

It was about rebellion, but I think it all came from boredom – people were bored so they decided to do something themselves. The essence of punk is if you don’t like what it is, change it yourself, do something different. Don’t be told you can’t.