She was both the “Empress of Punk” and the star designer of British fashion: Vivienne Westwood, known for her eccentric creations, died on Thursday after more than fifty years of fashion as a political platform.
“Vivienne Westwood passed away peacefully today, surrounded by her family, in Clapham, south London. The world needs people like Vivienne to change things for the better,” her fashion label tweeted.
Her husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler added in a statement quoted by the PA agency: “We worked to the end and she left me a lot to carry on. Thank you darling”.
March 2022 in Paris: At the end of her label’s parade, the 81-year-old designer climbs the podium to greet the audience.
Leaving the long red mane here is the gray hair tied in an elegant bun. With a slim silhouette, the designer sits enthroned on imposing wedge shoes. The one who rocked – and even shocked – the fashion world is still true to herself.
In 2016, however, she handed over the artistic direction of her label to her husband Andreas Kronthaler, an Austrian, who was 25 years her junior.
Change, yes, but in the continuity of what the Westwood brand was: a rebellious, transgressive and committed label.
“Defending ideas makes me happy,” she told boyfriend Ian Kelly, co-author of a 2014 biography.
December 29, 2022.
Vivienne Westwood died peacefully today, surrounded by her family in Clapham, south London.
The world needs people like Vivienne to change things for the better. pic.twitter.com/YQwVixYUrV
— Vivienne Westwood (@FollowWestwood) December 29, 2022
Born on April 8, 1941 in a small village in Derbyshire, central England, Vivienne Swire – Westwood is the name of her first husband, with whom she will remain four years – is the eldest of a modest family of three children.
At the age of 17 she left her home region and went to London, where she studied fashion. His meeting with Malcolm McLaren, future manager of the Sex Pistols, changes his life.
Driven by the same desire to break with the Peace and Love generation, the couple began making clothes and opened a shop on King’s Road in 1970.
AFP
Porn T-shirts, SM outfits, pumps with stiletto heels or patent leather tights are the outfits that Vivienne Westwood wears to amazed passers-by. Success is on the way. Their association with the “Sex Pistols,” whose hit “God save the Queen” became a global hit, anchored the couple in the punk universe.
During this time she designed her famous t-shirt with the face of Queen Elizabeth. In 1981 she organized her first fashion show in London, which she called “Pirates”.
Moving away from BDSM outfits (bondage, submission domination and sadomasochism) over the years, she will never betray her punk spirit.
“What I do today is still punk. It’s always about shouting out against injustice and making people think, even when it’s uncomfortable. In that sense, I’ll always be punk,” she confided to Ian Kelly.
AFP
Always disrespectful, like in 1992 when she was photographed leaving Buckingham Palace sans underwear. The designer, who had just been made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen, exposed her privates by swirling her skirt.
Above all, Vivienne Westwood remains an ultra-politicized fashion designer. Beliefs she defended on her podiums.
AFP
Central to his struggles is his commitment to the environment. As a pioneer, in 2008 she called on the fashion industry to consider climate change and urged consumers not to constantly buy clothes, even as her critics pointed out her contradictions in this area.
His other big fight was defending Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who was arrested in 2019 after spending more than seven years as a fugitive in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. That same year, during one of her parades, she denounced “government corruption and the death of the judiciary.”
A year later, she appeared in a giant cage before a London court to protest her extradition.
AFP