Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Influential and eccentric British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is well known for her influence on punk fashion and dressing the Sex Pistols.
Vivienne studied fashion and silversmithing at the Harrow School of Art in London at the age of 17 but left after one term saying that a working-class girl could never make a living in the art world. She went on to work in a factory and then as a teacher in primary school.
Vivienne studied fashion and silversmithing at the Harrow School of Art in London at the age of 17 but left after one term saying that a working-class girl could never make a living in the art world. She went on to work in a factory and then as a teacher in primary school.
She married Derek Westwood in 1962 (divorced 1965). In 1965 Westwood met and moved in with McLaren, future manager of the punk band the Sex Pistols. Eventually, they operated Let It Rock, a stall selling secondhand 1950s vintage clothing with McLaren's rock-and-roll record collection on The King's Road in 1970.
In 1976 they dressed the Sex Pistols with McLaren. Westwood's designs of the band help it carve out its identity.
In 1976 they dressed the Sex Pistols with McLaren. Westwood's designs of the band help it carve out its identity.
After her run with the Sex Pistols, Westwood went in an entirely new direction with her first commercial ready-to-wear collection Pirate in 1981, full of frilly shirts and other attire. Her styles have also included the mini-crini of the 1980s and the frayed tulle and tweed suit of the 1990s.
Collection Pirate
Collection Pirate
Collection Pirate
She created the punk style with her androgynous designs, safety pins, slogan T-shirts, and irreverent attitude towards the establishment.
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Twice she was named British designer of the year and was awarded the O.B.E. (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1992.
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Vivienne Westwood is well-known for creating the wedding dress for Carrie Bradshaw's character in the Sex and the City movie that spawned a thousand replicas.
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In 1988 the Vivienne Westwood met Austrian designer Andreas Kronthaler at the Vienna School of Applied Arts where she was a professor. In 1989 he moved to London to work with her. In 1991 they designed their first joint collection, and in 1993 they got married.
