When Dame Vivienne Westwood died, a statement confirmed: “Vivienne continued to do the things she loved, up until the last moment, designing, working on her art, writing her book, and changing the world for the better. She led an amazing life. Her innovation and impact over the last 60 years has been immense and will continue into the future.”
The designer is one of the most influential of recent decades, and the story of how she began her namesake label is seeped in cultural importance. Influenced by acts of rebellion and typical 1950s clothing, music and memorabilia, a young Vivienne and her then partner Malcolm McLaren (manager of band The Sex Pistols) opened a small boutique called Let it Rock in London's Chelsea in 1971. The style was a complete departure from the hippie fashion movement that was trending at the time. Two years later, the Sex Pistols’ song ‘God Save the Queen’ went to number one in the charts but was refused airtime by the BBC. The shop then reopened as Seditionaries, transforming the straps and zips of obscure sexual fetishism and bondage into fashion, and inspiring a D.I.Y. aesthetic worn by the band. The mass media labelled this as Punk Rock, a fashion movement that Vivienne became renowned for throughout her career.
Her first runway show was in 1981. Dubbed the Pirate Collection, it was filled with romantic looks in gold, orange, and yellow. The moment marked a radical change of direction. “Street style and youth culture ceased to play a major part in her work and instead, Westwood looked to traditional Savile Row tailoring techniques, British fabrics and 17th and 18th century art for inspiration,” the brand explains on its website.
Following a stream of successful shows, Vivienne received the British Fashion Council's award for Fashion Designer of the Year in both 1990 and 1991. She received the honour of O.B.E. from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1992. (Ever the rebel, she collected the accolade sans underwear - which apparently amused Her Majesty.) The following year, the designer married her longtime collaborator Andreas Kronthaler, whom she'd met in 1988 while teaching in Vienna.
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By now, Vivienne was designing clothes that stylishly parodied upper class outfits. A chance encounter inspired the Harris Tweed Collection. As she explained: “My whole idea was stolen from a little girl I saw on the tube one day. She couldn’t have been more than 14. She had a little plaited bun, a Harris Tweed jacket, and a bag with a pair of ballet shoes in it. She looked so cool and composed standing there.”
The clothing took a distinctly British turn, with Vivienne even producing her own tartan for the Anglomania Collection, linking it to an invented clan, MacAndreas.
In 2006 she was made a Dame for her services to the fashion industry and in 2007 received the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design award at the British Fashion Awards.
Things took a new direction for the fashion house in autumn 2016 when her husband debuted his own first official collection at Paris Fashion Week under the name Andreas Kronthaler For Vivienne Westwood. “Over the years Andreas has taken on ever more responsibility and I wish this to be reflected in public perception,” Vivienne said at the time. It is understood that Andreas’s tenure at the house will continue following the passing of Dame Vivienne.
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