Vivienne Westwood

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Undeniably one the most influential female designers of the twentieth century, Dame Vivienne Westwood came stomping out from the modestly unglamorous rolling hills of the British countryside. She has revolutionised every aspect of our social culture “from below” since entering our rain ridden, top collar buttoning and tweed loving society.
NOT only is she an incredibly talented fashion designer but the sole fact that as a female she has achieved such a highly respected and influential status in both the artistic and political world has dramatically improved women’s rights across the globe.
Her dedication has earned her international recognition in the form of 3 British Designer of the Year awards and even an OBE (extended to a DBE) from the Queen. No one could foresee that when Vivienne Isabel Swire was born in 1941 she would go on to liberalise and clothe the unsatisfied and unruly British youth through the 1970s punk movement. At the fresh young age of 21 Vivienne’s life was unfolding in a terribly
normal way, she was teaching at a primary school, went to Sunday Mass and did all the right and proper things that were expected of a young lady of the time, at 25 she married had children and everything continued in a too-good-to-be-true unremarkable way. It was only when she met Malcolm McLaren that her world took a mind-blowing unpredicted turn, the future manager of the Sex Pistols sparked her interest in the power of political art and encouraged her creative desires. Vivienne mirrored
the turmoil prevalent in the social movements of the time and became a uniform seamstress for Teddy Boys, Rockers and Punks. When Vivienne and Malcolm opened a store at 430 Kings Road she continued to shock and astound the British public by selling fetish fashion, bondage and ripped t-shirts among many other items, things that just weren’t available anywhere else at the time. The shop went through several name and image changes to become what it is known by today, The World’s End is still at 430 Kings Road and stocks the Anglomania collection which is a selection of ready-to-wear and some of Vivienne’s Menswear line. Her political involvement has not ceased since the 1970s and she continuously challenges the way we look at the world and prompts us not to accept things just as they are; her Active Resistance Manifesto addressed highly contested issues such as human rights and proposed the antidote for propaganda is art and culture. Through her clothes she fearlessly delivers her love for non-conformity and gracefully manages to intertwine it with her passion for traditional woven fabrics. Westwood famously printed baby t-shirts with logos “I AM NOT A TERRORIST PLEASE DON’T ARREST ME” and on more than one occasion has gone ‘commando’ (knickerless) when encountering royalty. Today she is highly involved with the Princes Trust and saving the rainforest; Gaia’s influence is a distinct feature of both her Red Label and Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 2010 collections.