Vivienne Westwood

 

 

Dame Vivienne Westwood was born on 8th April 1941 in Derbyshire, England. She went on to attend Glossop Grammar School. Aged 17 in 1958 Vivienne and her family moved to Harrow, London. She studied at the Harrow School of Art, University of Westminster taking fashion and silversmithing but she left after one term. After taking up a job at a factory and studying at a teacher- training college she became a primary school teacher.

In 1962 Vivienne met Derek Westwood, a hoover factory apprentice in Harrow. They married on 21st July 1962 and Vivienne made her own wedding dress for the ceremony. In 1963 she gave birth to her first son, Benjamin Westwood.

Unfortunately, not long after marrying, Vivienne met Malcolm McLaren and that unfortunately meant the end of her marriage to Derek. Vivienne then moved into a flat with Malcolm in Clapham.

Vivienne continued to teach until 1971 when Malcolm decided to open a boutique at 430 King's Road called "Let it Rock". After the opening of the shop, Vivienne began to design her own clothing which was then sold at the boutique. She designed her clothing with Malcolm's help, drawing ideas from bikers, fetishists and prostitutes. In 1974, the shop was renamed to "Sex". During this period Malcolm became the manager of the punk band "The Sex Pistols", this was when the two received attention from the public as the band wore their designs. In 1967 whilst living in Clapham, Vivienne and Malcolm had a son, Joseph.

 

Vivienne was deeply interested in the punk fashion of the 1970s saying "I was messianic about punk, seeing if one could put a spoke in the system in some way".

The "punk style" included bondage gear, safety pins, razor blades, bicycle or lavatory chains on clothing, spiked dog collars for jewellery, as well as outrageous make-up and hair.

Vivienne's most popular design uses elements of Scottish design, such as tartan fabric and tweed. The more un-usual side of her designs are inspired by the historical 17th and 18th century cloth-cutting principles.

In 1981 Vivienne and Malcolm showcased their fist seminal collection in London called "Pirate". It was shown at Olympia in spring 1981, to a blast of cannon fire and rap music by McLaren. The clothes evoked the golden age of piracy, an age of highway man, dandies and buccaneers.

 

An outfit from Vivienne's first collection "Pirate" in 1981

In 1990 Vivienne Westwood launched a menswear collection in Florence. That same year she was named British Designer of the Year of which she also won the same award in 1991.

In 1998 she won the Queen's Export Award for excelling at international trade and sustainable development.

In January 2003 Vivienne controversially sent men down her catwalk wearing fake breasts. The models for her Autumn/Winter 2003 menswear collection wore them underneath cashmere sweaters and polo necks. Vivienne explained that the inspiration for the men with breasts was "Fifties Sweater Boys".

In 2007 she was awarded the award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design at the British Fashion Awards.

In 2008 one of her designs appeared in "Sex and The City" the movie as Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) wedding dress.

Pamela Anderson who is one of Vivienne's closest friends, became the new face of Vivienne Westwood in 2008. In 2009 she graced the catwalk at Vivienne's Autumn/Winter 2009/10 collection in London.

In 2010 she was honoured at a ceremony for the Prince Philip Designers Prize. Vivienne received a special commendation for her contribution to design from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Alongside Vivienne's fashion range, she launched her own range of stationary in 2010 including notebooks and diaries in classic Westwood prints. She made her mark on the interiors world the same year with a selection of new table-cloth designs in support for eco charity "Cool Earth". The designs were covered with bold, bright prints.

In 2011 she was named Britain's Greatest British Fashion Designer in a poll conducted by Greenall.

In 1992 Vivienne was awarded an OBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

 

Vivienne dedicated her Spring/Summer 2012 menswear show to the Olympics. Westwood made sure each catwalk look referred to the games in some manner including t-shirts that came covered in printed torches, medals and statuesque Greek figures.

 

In 2011 Vivienne and photographer Juergen Teller went to Africa to work on her Autumn/Winter 2011-12 Ethical Fashion Africa collection. A programme which enlists thousands of local women to use their skills to produce bags for Vivienne and earn a fair wage in return. "This project gives people control over their lives" she said in an interview.

 

One of the bags from Vivienne's Ethical Fashion Africa Collection

To celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, she launched a new capsule collection inspired by gowns Queen Elizabeth had previously worn. The range, entitled the "Red Carpet Capsule Collection", also paid homage to the British flag.

 

Vivienne Westwood has many celebrity fans including Princess Eugenie, the Duchess of Cornwall, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams with the iconic Buffalo Hat and of course Dita Von Teese, of which Vivienne designed her wedding dress.

 

 

 

To view her recent collection or more information visit- www.viviennewestwood.com

 

 

 

 

Signature Look

Vivienne Westwood has created many iconic and signature looks over the years. But its safe to say her most iconic look is based around punk and rock n roll.

 

 The typical punk look includes using leather, bondage, zips, safety pins and chains. Garments such as ripped jeans, leather jackets, band t-shirts such as The Sex Pistols, The New York Dolls, Guns N Roses, The Rolling Stones, Ramones, The Who, Kiss, AC/DC as well as many many more are all popular t-shirts back in the 1970's and also in present 20th and 21st century.

Vivienne's style is also typically British with tartan fabric being one of her most popular and unusual choices. Tartan has made it into the 20th and 21st century with designers such as Alexander McQueen and Fendi using it. Its also used on the high street by brands such as Topshop, River Island, Debenhams, in fact many high street shops have a least one tartan printed number in their collections.

The punk style which was created by Vivienne Westwood during the 70's has been showcased by other designers in the 20th and 21st century too. Designer's such as Karl Lagerfeld have showcased clothing inspired by 70s punk. Singer Avril Lavigne has her own clothing brand called Abbey Dawn which is all punk styled clothing, inspired by the 70s and rock n roll music.