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.