But in the world of fashion: The British super designer Vivienne Westwood passed away tonight (Friday) at the age of 81. “Vivienne Westwood died today peacefully surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” the Twitter account of her fashion brand said.
Dressing the Sex Pistols, Kate Moss and many other celebs, Westwood was synonymous with 1970s punk rock and was known for her rebelliousness, which remains her hallmark as an unapologetically political designer who has become one of the biggest names in British fashion.
Westwood was born Vivian Isabel Swire on April 8, 1941 in the town of Glossop in the English Midlands and grew up during the Depression during and after World War II. When she was a teenager, her parents, a jade and cotton weaver, moved the family to North London, where she studied jewelry making and goldsmithing.
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)Westwood’s fashion often took elements from history, with designs that influenced it including corsets, tweed suits and ball gowns. A recycling mentality guided her work, and she repeatedly told fashionistas to “choose well” and “buy less.” From the late 1960s she lived in a small flat in South London for about 30 years and cycled to work.
“My clothes have a story. They have an identity. They have a character and a purpose,” Westwood said. “That’s why they become classics. Because they keep telling a story. They’re still telling it.” The Westwood brand flourished in the 1990s, when fashionistas flocked to its runway shows in Paris, and stores opened around the world selling its collections, accessories and perfumes.
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)In 1992, Queen Elizabeth awarded her the Medal of the Order of the British Empire and the designer, who, as always wanted to shock, appeared at Buckingham Palace without underwear – a fact she proved to photographers with a revealing twist of her skirt. “The only reason I’m in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity,'” Westwood said in her 2014 biography. “Nothing interests me unless it has that element.”
Dressing the genre-defining punk rock band the Sex Pistols, she defied the hip trends of the time to sell rock ‘n’ roll inspired clothing. They switched to ripped clothes adorned with chains as well as latex and hammer pieces, and used prints of swastikas, bare breasts and perhaps most famously, an image of the Queen with a safety pin through her lips. Favorite items included sleeveless black t-shirts, checked, with zippers, safety pins or bleached chicken bones.
Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)Westwood has used her public profile to promote social issues close to her heart, including nuclear disarmament and to protest anti-terrorism laws and government spending policies that hurt the poor. She held a large “climate revolution” banner at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympics, often turning her models into eco-warriors on the runway.
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)
Design by Vivienne Westwood (Photo: Reuters)