(SOLD): [JAY, Mark]. Johnny Rotten Doll.

[London]: Seditionaries, 1977.  First edition.  Card sheet.  Measures 34cm by 24.2cm.  Rare advertisement card for the black cotton bondage suit that was designed by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren for their Spring/Summer collection in 1976. It consists of a genderless matching two-piece jacket and trousers. The trousers have a zippered seam under the crotch and a detachable black towelling ‘bum flap’ and ‘hobble’ straps. The look is completed with black boots a beret, shades, wrist band and a digital watch!  The card also features a cut out Johnny Rotten doll to dress in such suit.  The artwork was comissioned by Vivienne Westwood, as an advertisement that appeared on the backcover of Skum fanzine issue 3.  Mark Jay was the editor of Skum, his artwork had been noticed by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood and they had him to design a poster, entitled ‘The Story So Far’, to promote and accompany the Pistols’ debut LP.  This is the first standalone example of the artwork we have seen.  We presume that alongside the advertisement in Skum a few larger adverts were made on card, such as this example, and possible displayed in shops and gigs around London. This example states ‘Clothes by Vivienne Westwood at Seditionaries’ along the bottom edge.  Seditionaries was was located at 430 King’s Road, Chelsea, London. After several earlier incarnations and name‑changes (Let It Rock; Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die; and SEX), in December 1976 the shop was renamed Seditionaries: Clothes for Heroes. It operated under that name until around 1979, when it later became known as World’s End. During it’s Seditionaries incarnation the shop was Seditionaries, the shop’s design was intentionally confrontational. The exterior was opaque—you couldn’t see inside easily; it had an “intimidating” façade. Inside, there were murals evoking bomb damage / Dresden’s devastation; harsh lighting; and a brutalist feel. The space was conceptual, almost theatrical, carrying provocative clothing mixing fetish, bondage, historical references, DIY elements, anarchy, punk, sexual provocation. This example in good condition, with some creasing along top edge and bumping to corners.