Born April 8th 1941 in Tintwistle, Cheshire, Dame Vivienne Westwood is widely considered to be the front-woman of British punk and one of the biggest influences on the aesthetics and culture of British iconography, global punk scenes and alternative fashion movement. Her recent passing rocked the fashion world to its core, and her story acts as an inspiration to upcoming fashion fanatics like you and I.
Her journey begins at the University of Westminster in 1957 where she undertook a term of a Silversmithing course before she dropped out, citing her working class background and doubts that someone like her would find success in the art world. If only she knew. Despite this, she began producing and selling jewellery independently alongside her teacher-training and famously designed and created her own wedding dress for her first marriage in 1962.
After meeting her second husband, Malcom McLaren, she continued her teaching career alongside making McLaren’s designs a reality until 1971 when McLaren became British Punk band Sex Pistol’s manager. Before this, they ran a stall named ‘Let It Rock’ selling 50s vintage fashion pieces alongside McLaren’s record collection. Westwood and McLaren began to garner attention for their designs through the Sex Pistols as they regularly wore their designs. Their boutique opened in 1971 named; ‘Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die’, ‘Sex’ and then ‘Seditionaries’ and quickly became an alternative youth fashion powerhouse and a central point for London’s punk scene. Their confrontational, sexual and provocative style garnered negative attention from the right-wing British press, but that wouldn’t stop them. During this era, the two were inspired by the rebellious youth and 1950 mainstream fashion and produced pieces sporting zips, leather and daring slogans. This did end in a prosecution according to the ‘1959 Obscene Publications Act’ in 1975 during their Boutique’s ‘Sex’ era, an Act that gave police the power to prosecute due to explicit materials. Once again, this would not stop them. The ready to wear FW82 catwalk show ‘Pirate’ would act as the pair’s debut into the runway world, featuring campy modern takes on pirate hats, boots and nautical jackets and exploring their past of plundering the global south. Key visual motifs included colour (said to be a derivation of the monochromatic black and grey fashion of the youth at the time), leather, belts, Indigenous American patterns and gathering; lots of gathering and rolled up sleeves. These nautical pieces would return in Westwood’s later solo shows, particularly in 1993, 1994 and 2021 and would inspire collections by John Galliano in 2001 and 2009, Alexander McQueen in Spring 2003 and Anna Sui in Spring 2007.
In 1984, Westwood would be invited to show her SS84 collection named ‘Hypnos’ in Tokyo alongside Claude Montana, Gianfranco Ferre and Calvin Klein at the ‘Best of Five’ global fashion award. In 1988, after her separation from McLaren, she would open her own boutique and in 1986, the iconic orb logo would be utilized for the first time, said to symbolize furthering tradition into the future.
Westwood would be named as the Fashion Designer of the Year in both 1990 and 1991 by the British Fashion Council, and received her O.B.E in 1992 where she famously went commando. 1992 would also be the year that wedding dresses made their emergence into Westwood’s collections. Shortly before this, Westwood’s inspirations transitioned from the punk youth of the day to ‘Tatler’ girls, with Westwood citing a girl she saw on the London Underground dressed in Harris Tweed carrying a bag with ballet pumps as her inspiration for her iconic AW87 collection.
For her ‘Anglomania’ AW93 collection, Westwood created her own tartan and Scottish clan, MacAndreas which was named after her third husband Andreas Kronthaler. Interestingly, the MacAndreas clan became legally recognised by The Lochcarron of Scotland which is a process typically taking 200 years. The ‘Anglomania’ collection is a personal favourite of mine, featuring her MacAndreas tartan, luxurious furs, satins and velours and was accessorised with primarily gold jewellery featuring the iconic orb, safety pins and earrings with the slogan ‘SEX’ harkening back to Westwood’s punk roots and influence. The clash of punk and Tatler influences, angular shapes and beautiful draping and monochromatic looks with colour pop accessories was captivating. Monochromatic looks and subtle punk influences continue to return in fashion trends today. Anglomania would become it’s own line within the Westwood collection in 1998 featuring a mix of draped and tailored silhouettes and pieces inspired by the Bondage, Pirate, Sex and Mini-Crini collections.
Throughout the late 90s- 00s, licensed Westwood stores would open throughout East Asia and Italy, beginning the expansion of Westwood boutiques out with the UK. She would visit Buckingham Palace again in 2006 to receive her Damehood for her contribution to British Fashion and In 2007, Westwood was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design.
Westwood’s continuing influence and impact through activism is a constant throughout her career, focusing on a variety of causes such as climate change and environmentalism, education, peace, civil rights and equity. In 1989, she appeared on the cover of Tatler in an outfit originally ordered for controversial Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher captioned, “This woman was once punk” to demonstrate the hypocrisy Thatcher displayed throughout her career. Notably, Westwood has supported a variety of charitable organisations throughout her long career such as War Child and Liberty, Amnesty International, Climate Revolution, Canopy and Greenpeace, along with supporting campaigns such as the Wikileaks scandal and Scottish independence by pinning blue ‘Yes’ badges to her FW London Fashion Week models in 2014 and stating, “I hate England” and showing support for Scotland’s democracy. This legacy of activism continues with the Vivienne Foundation, an organisation committed to the bettering of society and tackling climate change in collaboration with NGOs, sporting the tagline, “Tomorrow is too late”.
This activism has taken a large forefront in Westwood’s fashion career. In 2018, a Vivienne Westwood x Burberry collection was released to support the organisation Cool Earth which seeks to protect endangered ecosystems and tackle climate change.
The late 2010s saw many Westwood collaborations, notably with Vans, The Asics, Eastpak (featuring the slogan ‘SAVE OUR OCEANS’) and Buffalo. Westwood’s husband Kronthaler’s first collection debuted in AW16 Paris Fashion Week under the name Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, which continues to show separately from the mainline Westwood collections. This collection, named ‘Sexercise’, featured pastel blues, greens and apricots and is said to be inspired by Buddhism, Austrian costume and Spirituality. The final physical showcase of Westwood’s appeared at FW19 London Fashion Week before the House moved forward with exclusively digital shows citing environmentalism as the reason for this decision.
The final collection shown before Westwood’s death in December 2022 was FW22 named Wild Beauty. This collection followed on from the 2001 collection of the same name and featured big cats as a central motif. Tiger print was used in reference to the Chinese zodiac year of the Tiger, alongside leopard print and panther inspired silhouettes. Pieter Bruegel’s painting, The Fight Between Carnival and Lent, was used in a print and is said to symbolist the relationship between the human condition and life. Eyes were also a prominent feature in the prints of this collection, along with Westwood’s iconic F*CK 70s slogan and the Westwood logomania. A key note of this collection is its focus on minimising waste, a massive problem within the fashion industry. 71% of the materials used are low impact and cruelty free, utilised alongside deadstock.
Westwood’s impact on fashion cannot be emphasised enough. Her over 50 year long career has contributed to the ways in which we consume and view fashion today, always existing at the forefront of movements to bring fashion towards the future and bringing fashion forward subcultures into the light. Her long running commitment to activism will continue long after her death. As one of the few remaining independent fashion houses, Vivienne Westwood will continue to exist as a pillar of the fashion world and an icon of British culture.
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