Celebrating Nana's 25th Anniversary with Vivienne Westwood

“Vivienne Westwood, The Sex Pistols, seven-star cigarettes, coffee with milk and strawberry cake, and lotus flowers. Nana’s favorite things never changed.”

From the very first panels in Ai Yazawa’s manga Nana, fashion and music are established as the real storytellers. The series’ punk-inspired wardrobe, often featuring pieces designed by Vivienne Westwood, was an extension of its raw, alternative edge in the world of manga. Platform boots, tartan jackets, and the iconic orb pendant all defined not only Nana’s characters, but an entire generation of readers.

Now, 25 years after the manga debuted, the Vivienne Westwood X Nana anniversary collection honors the fashion that made the manga forever iconic.

In July 2000, the manga magazine company, Cookie, debuted Yazawa’s Nana, a story following two young women who share the same name and little else. Nana Osaki is a fiercely independent punk vocalist looking for success with her band. Nana Komatsu, or Hachi, is a warm and impulsive romantic who clings a little too tightly to the people she loves. The two meet by chance on a train to Tokyo and end up sharing an apartment as they navigate their futures together.

Fashion was central to Yazawa’s storytelling, which is no shocker, as the writer-illustrator actually began her education in fashion design. But absolutely no designer shaped Nana’s world more than Vivienne Westwood did.

Nana Osaki wore Westwood pieces most visibly, in alignment with her punk personality. She wore the iconic armor ring, mini skirts with tights, structured corsets, and platform boots, all of which reinforced her bold identity. But she wasn’t the only one.

Members of Nana’s band, Black Stone, were often featured wearing Westwood accessories, like the giant orb lighter necklace. Even Hachi, whose style was softer and more romantic, appeared with Westwood bags or earrings. Vivienne Westwood’s designs were not only used to represent Nana’s alternative taste, but they were also used to display the personalities of other characters through their stylistic choices.

Yazawa said in a recent interview with Vivienne Westwood that “Nana is the type who always wears Vivienne with confidence, but I sensed Hachi might be a bit nervous.” These contrasts made Westwood’s designs a tool for storytelling, not just an aesthetic. The choice to feature Vivienne Westwood designs came from Yazawa’s personal admiration for the brand, and often the pieces worn by Nana or other characters were pieces from her personal collection. She even stated in her recent interview that having the items in her own closet helped her to draw scenes of them being worn in action.

Now, two decades later, the relationship between Westwood and Nana has become one of the most recognizable designer-manga pairings in pop culture. When Vivienne Westwood announced a 25th-anniversary Nana collection, it was less of a surprise and more of a long-awaited return. The collection brings back the pieces that shaped the series visually, including the armor ring, the checkered rocking horse ballerinas, the orb lighter necklace, and more. Now, they are reimagined through a modern lens of the manga’s legacy and Vivienne Westwood’s evolving designs.

Nana’s influence on fashion culture is impossible to ignore. For many fans, this was their introduction to Westwood’s designs. The image and idea of the brand itself were the object of obsession long before readers were even able to purchase a ring or a bag.

The manga created a generation of fashion-forward, punk individuals who later would find themselves watching Westwood runway shows in their free time. The designs featured shaped an aesthetic for a new generation, and globalized Vivienne Westwood’s designs. Even now, younger fans discovering the series treat Westwood pieces as artifacts, or they’re inspired to start their own punk band like Nana. Either way, the manga’s connection to fashion and culture didn’t stop after Yazawa’s pen did.

The relationship between the brand and the story has grown into its own subculture, one that is only expected to be intensified with the anniversary collection.

For long-time fans, the collection feels like a return. For new viewers, it’s an invitation into the punk world of Vivienne Westwood and Nana.

What were your thoughts on the collection? Leave a comment below.