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ANNOUNCEMENTS••Edited
British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has died at the age of 81. Westwood rose to prominence as a clothing designer for the punk and new wave generations in the 1970s and 1980s. She went on to become one of Britain’s leading fashion designers.
Westwood died peacefully in the presence of her family in London’s Clapham, her fashion house reports on Twitter.
Westwood’s career, crowned by the BBC godmother of punkstarted in 1970. With the radical way in which she distinguished herself with her urban street style designs, she made a meteoric career all over the world.
Punk more than fashion
The designer grew up as a daughter in a working-class family in the English countryside. The family later moved to London, where Westwood became a school teacher, married and had one child. But in 1965, a meeting with Malcolm McLaren changed everything.
They moved into an apartment together and started the punk revolution that shocked and at times terrified the world. Westwood has opened a shop in London full of provocative clothes, chains and nails.
McLaren later dismissed his punk stint with the Sex Pistols as a marketing gimmick, but for Westwood, the move was a political statement. For her, it was a youthful rebellion against the corruption of the ruling establishment. Punk was therefore more than just a fad for her.
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The designer in Paris on the catwalk in 2000 -
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A design by Vivienne Westwood -
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Westwood campaigned for whistleblower Julian Assange
After the punk era, Vivienne Westwood has remained a celebrated name. You have shown in all the main fashion capitals: London, Paris, Milan and New York. The Westwood name was synonymous with style and confidence, even as her focus changed from year to year. Her work has never been predictable.
As her fame grew, she seemed to rise above the fashion world. Her drawings have been exhibited in museums around the world.
Environment
Westwood, with her trademark bright orange-dyed haircut, was also known for her environmental lobbying work. For example, you drove a white tank past then Prime Minister Cameron’s house to protest frackinga way to extract shale gas and oil.
She too remained defiant. When she garnered a royal honor in 1992, she was wearing no underwear when she met the Queen.
Dear designers
In 1989 he called influential fashion magazine Women’s clothing every day as one of the top six fashion designers of the twentieth century. She was the only woman on that list among names like Armani, Lagerfeld and Saint Laurent. “As far as I’m concerned,” she said, “that’s a factual statement.”
In 2006, the rebel designer was allowed to return to Buckingham Palace once again. She was knighted Dame of the British Empire.
