Vivienne Westwood x ‘Nana’: A lost opportunity?

Details: To celebrate the manga series “Nana’s” 25th anniversary, Vivienne Westwood released a collection of clothing, accessories, jewelry, and footwear on November 13 in the U.S. and Europe, November 14 in Asia. Social context: Some 44 million posts on TikTok reference the collaboration. On Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), #nana has 420.6 million impressions, and the collab hashtag has 1.4 million views. Vivienne Westwood’s Instagram post has more than 234,000 likes. Verdict: Vivienne Westwood’s collaboration with “Nana” has ignited a global discussion among anime and fashion communities, driven by the manga’s deep 2000s Asian childhood nostalgia. For many fans who grew up with Ai Yazawa’s cult series, seeing heroines Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu reinterpreted through official Westwood designs closes a long-standing loop: the brand had shaped the visual identity of the manga’s punk universe, yet the two had never officially collaborated. The characters frequently wear looks by the British brand, lending authenticity to the collaboration concept. “I’ve loved Vivienne’s clothes even before drawing Nana, and I had been collecting them, so almost all of the items that appear in the manga are from my own collection,” Yazawa said in an interview on the Vivienne Westwood website. When nostalgia meets market reality This connection created years of pent-up demand. Unofficial “Nana x Westwood” cosplay lighters have circulated on eBay for up to $1,000, demonstrating fans’ hunger for authentic merchandise. The collection’s Giant Orb Lighter became the most coveted item with only 250 units produced. Fans expressed frustration online over the lighter’s limited availability and how quickly the rest of the collection sold out. Many fans said the drop time was unclear, with some regions receiving the collection hours early. “Saying ‘November 13’ and releasing it the night before is wild,” one Reddit user wrote. Others who signed up for notifications never received alerts, fueling speculation that scalpers secured early access. Design direction under fire Once the collection went live, reactions split. Some celebrated the archival revivals such as Rocking Horse platforms, Armor Rings, Stormy Jackets, which are faithful to “Nana’s” punk DNA. However, many criticized the design direction and pricing, arguing the collection leans too softly into late-1990s punk aesthetics while producing brass jewelry at luxury prices. On Xiaohongshu, some users posted optimistic comments, with queues outside stores limiting entry to 10 customers in at a time due to excitement, and fashion bloggers sharing their hauls. Yet, the buzz appeared to derive more Vivienne Westwood’s iconic role in the popular manga series than the designs themselves, with many critiquing the collab as a lazy merchandise move. Vivienne Westwood has increased its focus on the Asian market, from showing at Shanghai Fashion Week in October 2024 to touring its first Asian exhibition, which opened July 29, 2025, at Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai. While “Nana” has a global fanbase, this partnership's social impact on Chinese platforms demonstrates the power of cross-generational nostalgia and fashion-fiction collaborations across Asia. Despite mixed reviews, the drop proved that when cultural memory meets scarcity, demand is guaranteed.

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Vivienne Westwood x ‘Nana’: A lost opportunity?