Basic Information

Name: Dame Vivienne Westwood (Vivienne Isabel Swire)
Born: 8 April 1941 (Age 67) in Tintwistle, Derbyshire, England
Occupation: Fashion Designer and Owner of Vivienne Westwood

Why Vivienne?

I wrote this piece as I’m a huge fan of Vivienne, not just her clothes (and shoes!) but also of her values and depth of character. She is a fascinating designer with a massive, sometimes crazy, personality which makes her a whole to more than just a designer.  

Early Days and “The Shop”

Vivienne began her professional career not as a designer but as a primary school teacher in Willesden, London where she lived with her first husband Derek Westwood (an Air Steward) and her son, Ben. Her life was nondescript and pretty ordinary up until then.
She met the infamous Malcolm McLaren, who later became known for being the Sex Pistols manager and has been credited with the invention of punk. Westwood and McLaren lived in Clapham, London where Westwood had her second son, Joseph (Joe Corre of Agent Provocateur). McLaren had a massive influence on Westwood and showed her the 1960’s way of living which Westwood embraced fully. She continued to teach up until 1971 until McLaren made the decision to open a shop in Kings Road, London. The shop has been known by many names over the years, beginning with ‘Let It Rock’, then ‘Sex’, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die’, ‘Seditionaries’ and is now know today as ‘World’s End’.  

Punk

The punk style was given it’s place in history when Johnny Rotten and Sex Pistols were draped in Westwood and McLaren’s collection of bondage trousers, safety pins and chains topped off with outrageous hair and make-up. There was also an unusual addition of a more traditional material, Tartan, a signature fabric that can be subsequently seen Westwood’s collections.

The punk explosion catapulted Westwood and McLaren into the fashion and music limelight where they revolutionised fashion by pushing the boundaries and constantly drawing on traditional fabric and designs. Westwood embraced tartan as went on to later design her own tartan which features traditional styling and clashing colour ways.  

Pirates

After the hubbub of the 1970’s, the ’80’s arrived and so did the New Romantics. Taking this as the basis of the new wave of Westwood, she delved deeper into the archives of fashion and found her 19th Century influence and ‘Pirates’ was her first collection. Very theatrical designs and irregular cuts gave this collection an impressive silhouette. March 1981 saw McLaren and Westwood’s first catwalk show, the Pirate collection shown at Olympia, London.

“… it’s so important to look to the past. Because people did have taste, and they did have ideals of excellence, and those things are not going to come unless people look at the past.”
- Vivienne Westwood –    

The Early Collections Westwood and McLaren were hugely successful in the early 1980’s with the following collections.  

  * The Clint Eastwood Collection saw Westwood work with the young Patrick Cox (Shoe Designer). One of the shoes Cox designed was the prototype 6 inch heel platform later worn by Naomi Campbell in 1993. Campbell took a stumble in the sky high heels which appeared in the press world wide and taking Westwood into the public eye.

In 1984, the Kings Road shop ’Nostalgia of Mud’ closed and Westwood moves to Italy and a deal with Giorgio Armani is announced.  

Corsets

1987 – Westwood is credited with being the first fashion designer to design a corset (the Statue of Liberty Corset) to be worn as outer clothing for her 1987 ‘Harris Tweed’ Collection. Her designs were artist, theatrical and often quite wearable and she set a new and definite trend in fashion. Westwood is reported to have said that a corset made her feel “lovely and relaxed”. The corset trend is seen in many modern collections and is increasing in popularity. Many (non-Westwood) corsets can be picked up for between £40-£100 on the high street and Westwood is still using this signature under/over garment in her collections today.  

The Gold Label Collection

Fast-forward to December 1990 and Westwood opens her first shop (without McLaren) at 6 Davies Street, Mayfair, London which sells the Gold Label Collection.  

Tartan

1989 to 1901 Westwood is appointed Professor of Fashion at Vienna Academy of Arts. During her time in Vienna, Westwood meets and then marries Andreas Kronthaler whilst teaching there. Westwood commissioned her own tartan as a tribute to her husband called ‘Mac Andreas’ (or McAndreas) for the Anglomania Collection and it appears in the records of the Lochcarron Museum, Scotland.  

Sex and the City

Becoming such an icon and influence in the fashion world and beyond, Westwood’s designs were featured in the 2008 Sex and the City movie. Most notably, it is Westwood who designed the wedding dress in which Carrie Bradshaw is photographed in for the Vogue “Last Single Girl” shoot. The dress is subsequently sent to Bradshaw as a gift with a hand written note from Westwood. Westwood was not impressed with the film and commented…  

“I thought Sex And The City was supposed to be about cutting-edge fashion and there was nothing remotely memorable or interesting about what I saw. I went to the premiere and left after ten minutes.”
- Vivienne Westwood -

Politics and Knickers

Westwood is no shrinking violet in the fashion world or even in the realm of politics and she is widely known as being a political activist. Recently she was present at the biggest Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Altermaston in Berkshire, UK. She also teamed up with the British civil rights group Liberty and launched a limited edition t-shirt stating ‘I AM NOT A TERRORIST, please don’t arrest me.’
Her OBE was collected by a knicker-less Westwood in 1992 and she twirled to reveal all. Knicker-gate was repeated in 2006 when she was made a Dame by the Prince of Wales in 2006 where she disclosed she was knicker-less again.  

“I may be a rebel but I’m not an outsider”
- Vivienne Westwood -  

Current Collections

The current Vivienne Westwood Collection is split into four with Gold Label being the more couture collection featuring outlandish prints and cuts. Red Label which is a more traditional collection featuring tailored suits, bright colours and tweed. Man features military styling, some corset work and beautiful millinery work. Anglomania is (in my opinion) the most accessible collection featuring the infamous Pirate Boots, Melissa Shoes and gorgeous jackets.