See images of new Vivienne Westwood building 'inspired by Scottish tartan'

She was an iconic fashion designer, known for her love of a brightly coloured tartan she created and officially registered more than 30 years ago.

Now Vivienne Westwood’s company hopes to incorporate the designer’s favourite tartan motifs into a new design for its London headquarters.

Plans have been submitted for the extension and modernisation of the headquarters of Vivienne Westwood on Elcho Street in Battersea, south-west London, where the fashion house has been based for three decades.

The architectural images show an inspiration from the design of tartan, with a clear criss-cross pattern on the outside of the building and cladding in a pink tone taken from the colour scheme of Ms Westwood’s own tartan. The scheme follows a previously approved application by the practice in 2015 and includes the partial retention of existing warehouse and office buildings.

A pink cladding, reminiscent of the MacAndreas tartan created by Vivienne Westwood, will be included. | AndArchitects

In 1993, Ms Westwood, who died three years ago, worked with weavers Lochcarron of Scotland to design her own blue and pink tartan, the MacAndreas, named after her husband and design partner Andreas Kronthaler. The fabric was added to the Scottish Tartans Authority that same year. Ms Westwood also designed other tartans, giving them names like MacPoiret, after the French master couturier Paul Poriet.

The design of the building features a highly patterned façade described as a fragmented collage, inspired by tartan motifs associated with the brand.

The Vivienne Westwood building is inspired by tartan. | AndArchitects

Manuel Nogueira, director of AndArchitects, which created the plans, said: “We want to show the history of the warehouse where they started out and the first extension. We're retaining the brick and the steel structure as well as the pink colour and the tartan mesh links the two.

“When it comes to designing the tartan theme, we don't take it literally, but we used the benefit of having the rhythm of the vertical and horizontal. The nice thing about it is because the tartan has different widths both vertical and horizontally, it allows you to play with that and actually allows you to hide the joints.”

The building design incorporates the checked pattern of tartan. | AndArchitects

He added: “We had a lot of discussions with people there [at Vivienne Westwood] about how we use the theme of reusing historic elements of the building. It's a very exciting project.”

The redevelopment is intended to provide increased space for staff, the atelier itself and an on-site archive. AndArchitects were first appointed to the project in 2008.

Mr Nogueira said large windows incorporated into the design would act as a “shop window” where different departments could showcase their work to passers by.

The proposals are for an extension to the existing site in Battersea, London. | AndArchitects

Although Ms Westwood is English, she came out in support of Scottish independence during the 2014 independence referendum. At London Fashion Week that year, she sent models down the catwalk wearing “Yes” badges and distributed a statement headed “Democracy in the UK” to journalists and buyers, its title spelt out in punk-style newspaper cut out letters.

“It could be the turning point towards a better world, they could lead by example,” she wrote in the statement.