‘Vivienne Westwood’

Santos Chavez

Vivienne Westwood, designer, teacher, entrepreneur, author, activist. There are a

great deal of words that can be used to describe the dame however ’teacher’ seems to be

the most applicable. Born Vivienne Isabel Swire; Westwood was born in a the sleepy

hamlet of Derbyshire (1941) in the highlands of the United Kingdom. At the age of 17

Westwood left her hometown and traveled with her family; who eventually settled in

London that same year. Westwood would then attend Harrow School of Art soon after;

majoring in Fashion Design and silvers smiting. However Westwood would only attend

for a single term before dropping out. Soon after Westwood would take courses in a local

teacher-training college and eventually move onto teaching primary school which she did

so from 1965-1971. Westwood would later recall how much she adored teaching [1].

After being married and divorced form her first husband Derek Westwood;

Vivienne then became involved with Malcolm Mc’Laren; a relationship that still rings

triumphant in the Halls of Great Love Affairs. Mc’Laren then opened a shop at 430 Kings

Road that still stands today, although the look has changed since its initial inception.

Westwood would then begin to design and sell for the shop. The two collaborated on all

of the articles of clothing at this point and began experimenting with different looks and

cuts that had not been seen before.[2] The two were working tirelessly; tearing, shredding

and stitching the fabric in haphazard ways and decorating them with political slogans

such as “DESTROY THIS”, “TOO FAST TO LIVE, TOO YOUNG TO DIE”, “GOD

SAVE THE QUEEN”; among others which became a voice for the generation. Seemingly
over night the pair had given birth to the ‘Punk’ subculture, and it remains there love

child, still alive and well to this very day.

It is at this time that Malcolm Mc’Laren began to manage a young band named

“The Sex Pistols” who became the ‘punk’ poster boys as well as there shops own (now

called “SEX”) walking billboards. This would be considered to be Westwood’s ‘big

break’ as a fashion designer; as it her title of “Grandmother of Punk” still stands true

today!

Westwood would continue to clothe The Sex Pistols until there eventual break up

in the late 70’s; however it was in 1981 that Westwood was able to debut her first catwalk

collection “Pirate”. The show opened to rave reviews by critiques and launched her fame

from subculture margin to full superstardom seemingly overnight!

It is at this time that the partnership between Westwood and Mc’Laren began to

polarize and branch away from the other; Westwood towards fashion design , Mc’Laren

towards the music industry. This is evident in Westwood’s 1982 solo collection “Witches”

where her signature style using tartan, drapery and asymmetrical cuts begin to take shape.

1988, Westwood debuts her “Portrait” collection which was largely inspired by

United Kingdoms Wallace Collection; an art gallery filled with more16th, 17th & 18th

century art work then anywhere in the world. This is regarded to be her most successful

‘cult’ hit, with its vintage pieces selling for an easy 1000EU. In this legendary collection

Westwood quite literally takes various Fragonard and Boucher paintings and prints them

on modern corsets, wraps and deconstructed t-shirts (in still standing with her punk

roots).[3]

Throughout the 90’s Westwood would enjoy moderate success throughout the
world. In 1993 Westwood would marry Andrew Kronthaler; a former student and also 30

years her junior. The same year Westwood would be awarded with an OBE and bestowed

with the title of ‘Dame’.[4]

In the year 2000 Vivienne Westwood could now add the title of author under her

belt. It was in that year that she published her political manifesto “Active Resistance to

Propaganda”. That same year the dame would advance in her OBE and be awarded a

DBE.

Throughout her life Dame Westwood has always had her finger on the worlds

political pulse, however during the 2000’s Westwood becomes a prominent social as well

as environmental activist. Westwood continues to give her support towards the awareness

of the effects of global warming and other “Gaea Theory” causes.[5]

Today Dame Vivienne Westwood lives in a small 17th century house that had once

belonged to the mother of Captain Cook. While she admits that she does not own a

television, nor listens to the radio or read magazines; she is a fierce literate and admits to

constantly reading, when she is not absorbed in her garden. For when you are a 69 year

old woman who has enjoyed so much success, created a revolution and changing lives; it

really is the little things that bring one bliss.

Works cited.
[1-"Vivienne Westwood - The Early Years". Victoria and Albert Museum.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1231_vivienne_westwood/text_panel_r1_01.ht
ml. Retrieved 2010-03-30]
[2-Horyn (1999-02-14). "The Queen of Extreme (page 3)". The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/14/style/the-queen-of-extreme.html?pagewanted=3.
Retrieved 2010-03-31]
[3-Beatrice, Luca, and Matteo Guarnaccia. Vivienne Westwood: Shoes. Bologna: Damiani
Editore, 2006. Print.
[4Krell, Gene. Vivienne Westwood. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997. Print.
[5-Wilcox, Claire. Vivienne Westwood. London: V & A, 2004. Print.]